The People Could Fly
In this beloved African American folktale collected by Virginia Hamilton, enslaved Africans secretly retained the magical ability to fly—a power brought from their homeland. One day, as an old man named Toby worked in the cotton fields under a cruel overseer's lash, he began to whisper ancient words in a language the other slaves had forgotten. One by one, the enslaved people remembered the magic of flight. Sarah, carrying her baby on her back, rose into the air. Young Jesse and his mother lifted off. The overseer watched in disbelief as worker after worker soared into the sky. Toby himself fl