Rachel Engl reviews Van Buskirk’s “Standing in Their Own Light”

“In Standing in Their Own Light: African American Patriots in the American Revolution, Judith L. Van Buskirk skillfully recovers the story of thousands of black men who took up arms against the British and fought for the cause of American independence within the Continental Army.  …  Exposing the paradox of slavery in a moment driven by the ideological pursuits of freedom, Van Buskirk shatters the myth of the Revolution as a watershed event for liberty and equality for all, and instead explores the complicated existence of African American patriots during the revolutionary tumult.”