Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019

A ship called the White Lion delivers a shipload of Ndongo slaves to Jamestown on August 20, 1619, the “symbolic birthdate of African America” (xiv). It was not just the beginning of African America, but also of Black America. Kendi makes the distinction: “African speaks to a people of African descent. Black speaks to a People racialized as Black” (xiv).

Four Hundred Years comprises works by 80 Black writers and ten Black poets. The pieces span 400 hundred years. Most of them were written in 2019 to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the White Lion’s arrival.

Kendi describes the assembled voices as a community and a choir, all bearing witness to the many facets of the Black history of America. He chose this format because of the need for solidarity and the awareness that Black people all have a shared experience: “There is no better word than we” (xvi).

102 passengers arrived on the Mayflower in 1620. A year earlier, the White Lion landed, filled with 20-30 Angolans. Everyone learns about the Mayflower. Few Americans ever learn about the White Lion, although Hannah-Jones calls it “classically American” (4). America celebrates one ship but erases the other. There are no holidays about the White Lion.