Novel ‘The Book Of Negroes’ Gets a Yes for Miniseries Amidst Controversy June 12, 2013 | Filed under: News | Posted by: trammell lawrence hillBy Victor Trammell A very controversial novel written by Lawrence Hill (pictured) will soon be converted into a television miniseries by BET in America and by CBC in Canada. According to the Hollywood Reporter, production for the upcoming miniseries will be under way this fall in South Africa. Hill’s book is called “The Book of Negroes.” Hill (who is bi-racial) will receive co-writer credit for the upcoming miniseries as well. The novel was published in 2007 and its controversial title is the actual name of a British naval ledger of 3,000 freed “Black Loyalist slaves” that asked for permission to live in Nova Scotia in 1783. The story tells about the life of 11-year-old Aminita Diallo. Diallo was kidnapped from Africa and sold into slavery in North Carolina prior to ending up in Nova Scotia (Northeast Canada). In America, the “Book of Negroes” title of Hill’s book was changed to “Someone Know My Name.” The word negro causes different types of undertones in America and the publishers of the book felt the title would not be allowed by some bookstores. In Canada, the word negro is not taken as offensive and people have a different perception of the word. Hill discusses this situation in a recent interview with The Guardian saying: “If you use it [Negroes] in Toronto or Montreal, you are probably just indicating publicly that you are out of touch with how people speak these days. But if you use it in Brooklyn or Boston, you are asking to have your nose broken. When I began touring with the novel in some of the major US cities, literary African-Americans kept approaching me and telling me it was a good thing indeed that the title had changed, because they would never have touched the book with its Canadian title.” (The Guardian)
Posted on: Thu, 13 Jun 2013 22:38:57 +0000
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