The Story of the Last “Black Cargo”

A landmark literary moment, Barracoon presents a long-unpublished work by Zora Neale Hurston, author of Their Eyes Were Watching God. With a foreword by Pulitzer Prize–winner Alice Walker, the book sheds light on the brutality and injustice of slavery through the firsthand testimony of one of its last surviving witnesses.

In 1927, Hurston traveled to Plateau, Alabama—just outside Mobile—to interview eighty-six-year-old Cudjo Lewis. Of the millions forcibly taken from Africa to the United States, Cudjo was believed to be the only person still living who could recount the experience from his own memory, decades after the transatlantic slave trade had been outlawed. Hurston’s mission was to document his story in his own words.

She returned in 1931, spending months in Plateau, a community formed by Cudjo and others who arrived on the same ship, the Clotilda. During their time together, they shared meals of fruit grown in the yard while Cudjo spoke of his early life in Africa, the violent raid that led to his capture, the agony of confinement in a barracoon, the terror of the Middle Passage with more than a hundred others, and the years he spent enslaved until the Civil War ended.

Drawing from these intimate conversations, Hurston shaped a narrative that preserves Cudjo’s distinctive voice while reflecting her own compassionate, insightful perspective. The result is a powerful work that illuminates not only the horrors endured but also the enduring spirit of a man whose life was irreversibly shaped by enslavement. Barracoon stands as a vital contribution to American history, offering a direct link to the past and a deeper understanding of its persistent legacy.

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Praise for Barracoon

“Zora Neale Hurston’s genius has once again produced a Maestrapiece.” — Alice Walker, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Color Purple

“A powerful, breathtakingly beautiful, and at times heart-wrenching account… Hurston gives Kossola control of his narrative—a gift of freedom and humanity.” — Nicole Dennis-Benn, author of Here Comes the Sun

“That Hurston should find and befriend Cudjo Lewis… is nothing shy of a miracle. Barracoon is a testament to the enormous losses endured in slavery and freedom—urgently relevant to every American.” — Tracy K. Smith, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Life on Mars

“A celebration of language and tradition… a clear labor of love. Hurston’s empathy and intellect shine throughout.” — Angela Flournoy, National Book Award finalist and author of The Turner House