Unsung cover art

Unsung

Unheralded Narratives of American Slavery & Abolition

Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Unsung

By: Schomburg Center - editor, Michelle D. Commander - editor, Michelle D. Commander - introduction, Kevin Young - introduction, Kevin Young
Narrated by: Chris Abernathy, Amanda Carlin, William DeMeritt, Dion Graham, Bill Andrew Quinn, Marisha Tapera, Bahni Turpin, Jade Wheeler
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

A new historical anthology from transatlantic slavery to the Reconstruction curated by the Schomburg Center, that makes the case for focusing on the histories of Black people as agents and architects of their own lives and ultimate liberation, with a foreword by Kevin Young

This is the first Penguin Classics anthology published in partnership with the Schomburg Center, a world-renowned cultural institution documenting black life in America and worldwide. A historic branch of NYPL located in Harlem, the Schomburg holds one of the world's premiere collections of slavery material within the Lapidus Center for Historical Analysis of Transatlantic Slavery. Unsung will place well-known documents by abolitionists alongside lesser-known life stories and overlooked or previously uncelebrated accounts of the everyday lives and activism that were central in the slavery era, but that are mostly excised from today's master accounts. Unsung will also highlight related titles from founder Arturo Schomburg's initial collection: rare histories and first-person narratives about slavery that assisted his generation in understanding the roots of their contemporary social struggles. Unsung will draw from the Schomburg's rich holdings in order to lead a dynamic discussion of slavery, rebellion, resistance, and anti-slavery protest in the United States.
African American Americas Black & African American United States Africa

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano cover art
Harriet Tubman cover art
The Heart of Midlothian cover art
12 Years a Slave cover art
The Gilded Age cover art
Tell It All: The Story of a Life's Experience in Mormonism cover art
Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation, 1838-1839 cover art
The History of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave - Related by Herself cover art
The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass cover art
Black History Collection cover art
Abraham Lincoln cover art
Black England cover art
Twelve Years a Slave cover art
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl cover art
Uncle Tom's Cabin cover art
10 Masterpieces You Have to Read Before You Die 1 cover art

Critic reviews

“As comprehensive a collection as now exists and one that should be required reading in history and literature courses.”
Kirkus, starred review

“Remarkable anthology...As a whole, this collection showcases the vastness of Black thinking and writing, and nicely complements works by Martha S. Jones and Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers. Complete with a list of suggestions for further reading, this winning anthology is a must for all interested in Black history, but unsure where to start.”
Library Journal, starred review

“This anthology highlights the overlooked role that enslaved people played in emancipation.”
The New York Times Book Review

“The song sung in these pages is not solely an aria to agency or a tragic chorus about limits; it is both. It perseveres in the mission described in Arturo Schomburg’s 'The Negro Digs Up His Past' as excavating history to 'restore what slavery took away.' It shouts against the silencing alluded to in the Unsung title. Like the Harlem Renaissance and the Schomburg Center, Unsung is a work of both history and art.”
Washington Post

No reviews yet