Black Livingstone: A True Tale of Adventure in the Nineteenth-Century Congo

More research may have only helped a little as there does not seem to be a whole lot of information available about William Sheppard. Born in 1865 in Virginia he attended Hampton Institute and then entered the ministry in Alabama. After pastorships in Georgia, this young black man in the predominantly white Southern Presbyterian Church was offered a position as missionary to the Belgian Congo in 1890. He and a fellow missionary - 23 year old white Alabaman Samuel Lapsley set off for what would be a 20 year adventure for Sheppard. Lapsley on the otherhand lasted no time at all. He died from fever in 1892, eventually being replaced by William Morrison who came out in 1897.

Writing style and paucity of research material on the main subject notwithstanding, the book does a good enough job with the descrition of some of the adventures that Sheppard embarked on. Such as his journey to the land of the Kuba peoples "who lived at the end of a labyrinth of secret paths; anyone who told the way into the city would be beheaded." This was also Congo under the rule of the rapacious Belgian King Leopold II and one of the duties assigned to Sheppard following Morrison's arrival was to document the cruel exploitation of the locals by the Europeans. Sheppards' uncovering of a massacre of locals by a cannibalistic king working at the behest of the Belgians showed both his bravery and his ability to handle tricky situations.

In the end the man was undone not by tribal feuding, politics or Belgian revenge, but by subtle human failings. He was found guilty of adultery having taken a few African mistresses while on service and was called home to answer charges by the church. It is strange that in discussing this episode the author is not as forthcoming with proposing what Sheppard might have been thinking or feeling. Perhaps it is finally a recognition that we simply can't know.

William Sheppard comes through as a brave, enterprising, and intrepid person. More akin to adventurer than missionary. He certainly rises above his fellow church workers. If BLACK LIVINGSTONE had been simply a telling of his story rather than guessing his thoughts, then the book would have been as enjoyable as the man was interesting.


disappointing   January 18, 2002
7 out of 8 found this review helpful

Because of the fascinating nature of its subject, I eagerly awaited the publication of this book and excited started reading it, despite having at least a dozen other books waiting to be read. The story of William Sheppard's life and the sad history of Belgium's colonization - or rape - of the Congo were irresistably interesting, but Ms Kennedy's book is extremely disappointing. It is poorly documented and full of speculation. Even after the first few pages, it is exasperating, as it repeats constructions such as "He must have ...," "He would have ...," and "He must have thought ... ." In short, it is full of descriptions that could not possibly have been known by the author, and the result is that the book lacks authority because it makes one question the author's and the sources' credibility. This could have been a much, much better book had the author not filled it with so much speculation and such ridiculously imagined passages as: " By the time the train chuffed up to the station, Sheppard had trimmed his stogie. Climbing on board, he swayed past the Colored section and went on to Smoking. There, he veiled himself in a spicy-smelling shroud." Every page of this book is covered with similar imagined passages. It is just poorly written.


Too Many "probablys"   October 26, 2002
R. J. Hardage (South Carolina)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

I agree that Pagan Kennedy is an excellent storyteller, and her telling of William Sheppard's story is spellbinding. Contrary to what some reviewers think, however, there is much more primary material available to the researcher than Kennedy seems to have used. Unfortunately, Black Livingstone is marred by too many suppositions--maybe, probably, perhaps, could have, should have, etc.--and the author attributes attitudes both to Sheppard and his associates that cannot be substantiated from records. William Phipps's biography, William Sheppard: Congo's African American Livingstone, presents a much more balanced picture of this important man's life and service.


William Sheppard should be better known   May 6, 2003
Ed Gibbon www.congocookbook.com (Washington DC)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful

The life and work of William Sheppard should be better known. He was an African-American who escaped Jim Crow in the U.S. to become a missionary in Africa. He co-founded a Christian mission in Africa where they had been none before and for a time ran it single-handedly. He was also an amateur anthropologist/ethnologist and became the first foreigner to establish contact with the Kuba people of central Africa and to describe their culture to the outside world. On top of all that, he documented the cruelty of the King Leopold's Congo rule. Unfortunately, it is not clear that "Black Livingstone: A True Tale of Adventure in the Nineteenth-Century Congo" by Pagan Kennedy is up to the job of elevating William Sheppard to his rightful place in history. The book is well written, worth reading, and might be valuable to anyone interested in Africa, the Congo, or Christian missionaries, but a lot of the story is missing and is filled in with generalities from Sheppard's time. It may be the case that original documents concerning Sheppard's life are lost, and this is the best that can be done, or perhaps another book can do better. Four stars, but barely.


With Pagan Kennedy in Darkest Africa   March 2, 2002
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

Pagan Kennedy writes an interesting story about William Henry Sheppard, black Presbyterian pioneer missionary to nineteenth-century Congo Africa. The book is laced with quotations from original sources that give something of the flavor of the man and his times, as well as comments from his colleagues. Often, one wishes for more of the quotations and less reading between and behind the lines by the author.
Clearly, this is a work of historical fiction, leaning more to the fiction side than the history side. Although Kennedy relies on historical sources, she is primarily a fiction writer. It becomes evident in the way she frequently imagines the thoughts and motives of Sheppard and the other players in his history. One soon recognizes that Kennedy has created William Henry Sheppard in her own image and likeness. The nagging question remains on every page: how does Kennedy know the thoughts and motives of Sheppard and his missionary colleagues unless they are recorded in their writings or conversations with others?
The picture of Sheppard that emerges is of a strong but flawed individual using African exploration to escape American racism and social ostracism. Traditional religious ideas of the missionary as one who sacrifices his or her life to deliver the Christian message to those who have never heard is largely absent from this book. One wonders why Kennedy didn't just write a novel about a black southerner who goes to Africa as a missionary explorer. Then, she would not have to use so many "probably he was thinking" or "imagine that he" or "it must have seemed to him" and the like.
In the end, a disappointing book. The "real" story of Sheppard and his mission remains to be written.