Except for the first installment that focuses on Aminata’s girlhood, Ellis is present in nearly every scene, aging decades and displaying a stunning range of emotion.Įach hour offers its own harrowing portrait in time, with Aminata facing the continual grief of losing children and loved ones, the humiliation of being treated as property and the anger at people’s unwillingness to change. Of course, it’s Ellis’ gripping performance that holds the six-part miniseries together.

as Moses, a blind preacher who encourages Aminata during one of her most hopeless times. Also of note are Ben Chaplin as British naval officer John Clarkson and Louis Gossett Jr. gives a standout performance as real-life historical figure Samuel Fraunces, a tavern owner who helps Aminata on her quest to live freely and return home.

She is sold to Solomon Lindo ( Allan Hawco), a Jewish man who unwittingly changes her life when he takes her to New York.Ĭuba Gooding Jr. Gets No Jail Time After Guilty Plea in Forcible Touching CaseĪs the story progresses, more characters cross Aminata’s path, for better or worse: There’s Chekura ( Lyriq Bent), whom she meets as a girl and who eventually becomes her husband, though the two are often separated for years at a time.

The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill