Freedom, a Fable: A Curious Interpretation of the Wit of a Negress in Troubled Times, with Illustrations,

1997

This short story, illustrated with pop-up versions of Walker’s famous silhouettes, appears to be a vintage children’s book but is actually a contemporary tale of racism and gender discrimination. Set in the Civil War era, Freedom, A Fable tells the story of an enslaved woman who is emancipated but still experiences oppression, discovering that freedom is indeed a fable. Walker’s tale addresses the persistence of negative stereotypes that emerged in the minstrel shows, novels, and artworks of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. By presenting her work as a book—an intimate object meant to be held, read, and paged through—Walker implicates us in the never-ending story of troubled race relations.