Korithha wrote a book just like I write a shopping list so effortlessly but beautifully. It made me think and learn a lot in just half an hour . I loved the bits about Michelle Obama and agreed with everything . Everyone needs to read this wonderful book.

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Abdel Rahman Amin
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From Slave Cabins to the White House by Koritha Mitchell
From Slave Cabins to the White House: Homemade...
by Koritha Mitchell (Goodreads Author)
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From Slave Cabins to the White House by Koritha Mitchell is an intensely-written and often dogmatic book which attempts to highlight and define the many ways African American women have been disrespected as homemakers, and how that translates into an overarching disrespect for all African Americans who seek success - especially domestic success - both as they define it and as the majority culture defines it. The author uses a wide variety of cultural productions (books, plays, etc) to support this belief, ranging from Harriet Jacob's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861) to Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun (1959) to Toni Morrison's Beloved (1987), and finally the public persona of former First Lady, Michelle Obama.

Seeing these texts through the filter of the author's premise was interesting, and definitely made me want to read the original documents to form my own opinion - I have a healthy suspicion when it comes to cherry-picking.

That said, the author does a great job of supporting her premise, and does it convincingly. She weaves a compelling narrative, and, with the exception of the wandering and poorly-scoped introduction, the writing is engaging and challenging.

In whole, From Slave Cabins to the White House provides a much-needed historical look at the topic of domestic success and African American women, and how that success has been denied, denigrated, withheld and ultimately claimed.

A very interesting, educational and informative read. I enjoy learning new things and this was a very good non-fic.


Thank you Netgalley for providing an arc of this book for an honest review.

From Slave Cabins to the White House by Koritha Mitchell is an intensely-written and often dogmatic book which attempts to highlight and define the many ways African American women have been disrespected as homemakers, and how that translates into an overarching disrespect for all African Americans who seek success - especially domestic success - both as they define it and as the majority culture defines it. The author uses a wide variety of cultural productions (books, plays, etc) to support this belief, ranging from Harriet Jacob's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861) to Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun (1959) to Toni Morrison's Beloved (1987), and finally the public persona of former First Lady, Michelle Obama. 

Seeing these texts through the filter of the author's premise was interesting, and definitely made me want to read the original documents to form my own opinion - I have a healthy suspicion when it comes to cherry-picking. 

That said, the author does a great job of supporting her premise, and does it convincingly. She weaves a compelling narrative, and, with the exception of the wandering and poorly-scoped introduction, the writing is engaging and challenging. 

In whole, From Slave Cabins to the White House provides a much-needed historical look at the topic of domestic success and African American women, and how that success has been denied, denigrated, withheld and ultimately claimed.

This review is based on an advance copy read.