The Ballad of Blind Tom, Slave Pianist by Deirdre O'Connell

Description
Blind Tom was born a slave in Columbus, Georgia in 1849: born with cataracts over his eyes. O'Connell recounts his surprising survival past infancy and the fascinating events that led to his becoming a celebrity all over the United States.
Tom spent his earliest years mostly closed up in a wooden barrel, not only to protect him from the slave-owners (who were aware of his presence) but also to protect him from himself, and even to protect the other children from him. Given the chance, he would raise havoc all he could by smashing chairs and pinching and harming the other children, delighted by their squeals and sounds, but either oblivious or insensitive to the pain that made them cry out. Later, he would wander fearlessly into the night to explore the sounds of the owls and dogs, and tales of the bogey-men did nothing to dissuade him, as they did the other children. These behaviors have caused many to speculate that Tom was autistic as well, and, without belaboring the point, O'Connell explores this diagnosis and the possible causes in terms that are easily accessible to those of us without much prior experience with autism.
Sold by the "master" Wiggins to pay off debts, Tom and his mother were bought by the kind General Bethune, whose daughters took a liking to Tom. Upon the instant of hearing the Bethune family piano, Tom was fascinated by it, and was eventually granted access to it as he wished, and in this easier environment he began to develop more social skills. In 1857 Bethune was able to parade him at events as a musical prodigy, able to quickly reproduce excerpts of Mozart and Beethoven after a single hearing. To this was added Tom's comedic talent of mimicry, as he lampooned the speeches of Georgia politicians, much to their offense. His on-stage antics undoubtedly contributed to the Jim Crow stereotype, with hilariously exaggerated dancing, but this was matched awe of the crowd for his talent. Bethune put him under the charge of Perry Oliver, who became Tom's manager, and brought him outside of Georgia, on tour with many other acts, but none of these won Oliver more fame than the incredible Blind Tom.
Tom became a spoiled adolescent under these circumstances, every request granted by his keepers lest he refuse to perform his act, and as Civil War became imminent, he feared only one thing: freedom.
Tom's keepers had kept him fed, not only with food and drink and candy, but also Confederate propaganda. He was told that the abolitionists wanted to take him away from his managers, so that he would be abandoned and alone, or so that somebody else might steal him, or even kill him. Because of this uncompromising solution, Bethune was able to keep him in his charge after Tom's emancipation. As General Bethune was growing older, he handed the responsibility to his son to watch after Tom. With nominal freedom, Tom continued to tour North America under the care of several managers.
In the 1880's, John Bethune's wife sued him for custody of Tom, as they were getting divorced. The rest of Tom's life he was cared for on her property, though myths constantly circulated about Tom's alleged death and countless copycats tried to hitch a ride on his fame. Where the real Tom is buried today is still unknown.



Rationale
This book strikes me as an ideal young adult book for 10th-12th graders. The students should already have some background knowledge about the American Civil War and American slavery, but I firmly believe that this book will cement the details and feelings of that time better than any textbook could. I chose the book because it crosses the paths of so many diverse interests: race relations, handicaps, autism, music, and history. There is enough of each of these elements that a student who begins the book with an interest only in music, and not the other aspects, will enjoy the story and learn to appreciate the complications of the other elements. Some of the vocabulary is challenging, but nothing that cannot be intuited from context.
One thing this book does that I've not seen in any other, textbook or otherwise, is that it accurately and humanely probes into the Confederate psyche, rather than leaving the reader to assume that all southerners, or all slave-owners, were heartless and consumed only by greed. The character of General Bethune in the beginning of the story will challenge the readers' prejudice about all slaveholders' intentions, while also not sparing the character of Bethune in telling the truth of what tragedies resulted from those good intentions.



Teaching Ideas
While there is value in the entire book, if time restraints do not allow all of it (260 pages) to be read, I would advocate teaching at least one entire part as well as the short, 4-page epilogue. With either selection, these three ideas should be doable.
1) Read excerpts from Blind Tom and also some from any of Frederick Douglass' autobiographies. Analyze the differences in their perspectives and discuss the possible causes behind such drastically different outcomes of thought. (Recommend reading part 2: Franatics)
2) In a persuasive unit, analyze excerpts (especially chapter 2) to determine how slavery, which is generally considered so obviously wrong today, almost universally across the nation, was defended with critical rhetoric in its own time, and discuss whether it's possible that seemingly justifiable acts today might be perceived negatively the same way in historical hindsight. Is it possible to know? (Recommend reading part 1: The Seen and the Unseen)
3) In a unit on historical fiction, read this true story and discuss how an author might convincingly form an original story around this time frame. What kinds of details and stylistic choices would be effective, and what would be ineffective?


Obstacles
O'Connell tells the story well, but because she chooses to put everything into thematic chapters, the chronology of the story is not always perfectly clear. The vocabulary is, at times, advanced, but easily deciphered from context.
Students and parents who are deeply concerned with the historical pride of the south may be made uncomfortable by the text, as it deals with the issue of slavery, however they may be able to be won over if they are given to understand that the way the story is told does not dehumanize the slave-owners as a complete group.
Conversely, some students and parents may be initially excited by a first glance at the book, but may be made uncomfortable by the humanization of slave-owners such as Bethune. We should encourage them to share their perspective on the matter, but should also insist that there is incredible value in our being able to deeply understand a perspective that we vigorously oppose.
I anticipate that an administrator's response to the text would be only positive.



Additional Details
Because of Blind Tom's fame, the book has several pictures in good quality (for their time) of Tom in various stages of his life, from 15 years old to 50. This will aid visual learners in relating to the story. There are also recordings of Tom's compositions, most notably a collection by John Davis, which will aid audio learners.