Daughters of the Dust

This book is the companion to the movie Daughters of the Dust. Or the other way around. I have loved the moviw and the book since they both came out. By reading the book you get a deeper understanding of the struggle between old and new. The movie shows it as well, but the book allows you to spend more time on the specifice. I was glad I was able to find it again.

Daughters of the Dust is set on the Sea Island. The story follows the lives of the Peazants. In one sense, it is historical fiction in that the plot refers to the slave trade in explaining how the residents arrived on the island. The author also interspersed some of the history of the Africans and Native Americans in explaining the characters. Finally, she also uses the oral tradition of Africans to further allow the reader to see into the heritage of the characters.Amelia grew up with her father, mother and maternal grandmother. The dynamics of the household are disturbing to Amelia. Her grandmother, Hagar, is bitter and runs the household with an iron fist. Her father spends much of his time at the family business. Both her grandmother and father tend to verbally abuse or ignore her mother who just seems to suffer through it all. Amelia is the only bright spot in her mother's days. Amelia vaguely remembers trips to the "island" and her mother's family. She has a lot of curiosity about this facet of her family. Neither her father or grandmother has anything nice to say about the island but her mother seems to long for the island. Amelia decides to go to the island to "study" her family with her mother's blessing and against her father & grandmother's wishes. On the island, Elizabeth befriends Amelia. Elizabeth is the one who has ventured away from the island and furthered her education. She routinely works for two older white women on the "mainland" as well as teaching on the island. Elizabeth is Amelia's guide to not only life on the island but their family's history. Elizabeth, like Amelia, must chose between staying with family or following her dreams.The supporting characters in Daughters of the Dust are colorful and endearing to say the least. There are children, teenagers, elders, newlyweds, hopes & dreams realized and lost in the lives of the supporting characters: they each have a tale to tell. Ms. Dash does a great job of telling a "story" with strong African-American women of character. I would recommend this book to anyone that is curious about the history of Africans in America and enjoy reading about the challenges of family life.Leanna BaileyR.E.A.L. Reviewers

Daughters of the Dust was a fascinating movie about the struggles of a female-headed, multigenerational family moving to the American mainland. It was made in fits and starts due to continual fundraising for the movie that Dash had to do. This book documents getting the movie made. It has a good section in which Dash and cultural critic bell hooks discuss the symbolisms in the film. Given that even Spike Lee has trouble raising money for his films, it is essential that incipient black filmmakers get advice on what they'r getting into. In that way, this book is an important first tool. Those majoring in film studies, feminist studies, or Afro-American studies will want to have this book.

I appreciated being able to continue the journey with the Peasant Family and deepen and widen my personal relationship with them. Julie Dash and her creativity continue to nurture the American African experience by re-membering our collective consciouusness through language, image and ritual. I look expect to see a film manifested from the amount of energy Sister Julie released into this project and send her much love and light toward her endeavors.

A great deal of Dash's strength lies within her ability to capture the essence of not only the lead character, Amelia, but also of the other women that she encounters. Amelia's true self emerges as she completes her pilgrammage to the homeland of Dawtuh Island. Beginning with a tentative, impersonal anthropological study of her own people, Amelia learns of her roots and gains an appreciation for the simplicistic lives that her relatives lead. In the process, and quite accidentally, she discovers her true self. In both a literal and figurative sense, she takes communion with those who walked the land before her. This book also succeeds in presenting stories and rituals from Africa in such a magical way that one can almost hear the spirits calling their sons and daughters home over the "big water". Dash effectively uses the geechee dialect sparingly and without mockery, so that the characters presented within this book are seen as members of a distinct culture, rather than circus side show spectacles. This lyrical tale aroused my curiosity about a people who survived slavery with their ways intact, and it inspired in me a new appreciation for letting others live as they deem fit.