Libertie

Based on the life of Susan Smith McKinney Stewart, the first black woman in New York to earn a medical degree, Libertie begs the reader to ask if freedom is truly ever possible for a woman of color.

Coming of age as a free-born Black girl in Reconstruction-era Brooklyn, Libertie Sampson was all too aware that her purposeful mother, a practicing physician, had a vision for their future together: Libertie would go to medical school and practice alongside her. But Libertie, drawn more to music than science, feels stifled by her mother’s choices and is hungry for something else—is there really only one way to have an autonomous life? And she is constantly reminded that, unlike her mother, who can pass, Libertie has skin that is too dark.

When a young man from Haiti proposes to Libertie and promises she will be his equal on the island, she accepts, only to discover that she is still subordinate to him and all men. As she tries to parse what freedom actually means for a Black woman, Libertie struggles with where she might find it—for herself and for generations to come.

After reading Libertie I find myself in one of those good old love/hate relationships with the story. The writing was beautiful, detailed and emotionally charged. However, the story itself was a slow burn, and I wasn’t really anticipating that, so I guess that is all on me.

This is a character driven story about family and the trials of colored women during the Reconstruction era. As I read more and more of the story, I felt that I was always at arm’s length from Libertie, and this made it hard for me to invest in her particular story. Its as if I was standing outside and looking through a window, and watching her life unfold. I actually found myself more connected with her mother and her story. Libertie’s mother was a strong and smart woman who’s goal was to send Libertie to college to become a doctor, but daughter’s can rebel and this is what Libertie did.

When Libertie is no longer under her mother’s watchful eye or tutelage, and finally has the freedom she has longed for, she immediately puts herself under someone else’s thumb…that of her new husband. This is where Libertie must grow as an individual and realize that she may not have known the true definition of freedom.

At the end of this story I still found myself with questions, so that begs me to ask…Will there be a sequel??