Rousing Rendition of an Abolitionist Legend

By Robert Murray · Originally published December 2020 · p. 29

The Good Lord Bird is a new Showtime mini-series centered on the life of John Brown, told through the eyes of Little Onion (Henry Shackleford), a young black man played by newcomer Joshua Caleb Johnson. Little Onion joins Brown’s anti-slavery crusade disguised as a girl. Excuse me? Trust me; it all makes sense in the first few minutes. The series is based on James McBride’s 2013 novel that won the National Book Award for fiction. The film series was created by star Ethan Hawke.. Race issues proliferate throughout each episode, as you would expect of a series covering Brown’s escapades from 1857 Kansas to 1859 Harpers Ferry. Gender issues come into play in both humorous and thought-provoking ways, particularly when Onion works in a Pikesville, Mo., brothel. However, what should really intrigue the readers of this publication is the accurate history depicted in an over-the-top fashion. First, there is Brown himself, in all his zealous, fire-breathing glory, raiding Pikesville with singular fury. Interspersed with this violent nature is a caring man who feels passionately about his cause and his God, sometimes to the chagrin of his eldest son Owen. To say Hawke makes John Brown his own is an understatement; this is a dream acting assignment for him. J.E.B. Stuart and Captain Henry Pate both make appearances in Kansas during the first episode; ironically the two men will die together in far off Virginia at the Battle of Yellow Tavern. Pate plays the part of a combatant in the Battle of Black Jack, a contest some historians say was the first battle of the Civil War, and which is portrayed comically due to Brown’s religious theatrics and lack of military acumen. On a more serious note, Reverend Martin White, a real figure in Bleeding Kansas, kills Brown’s son Frederick in cold blood, and it is interesting to see the grief Brown struggles with as he stubbornly continues his crusade against slavery. Finally, there is the depiction of Frederick Douglass, amplified by the love triangle he clearly displays to Brown and Onion in his Rochester, N.Y., home. Ottilie Assing, a German abolitionist, and Douglass’s wife Anna are continually vying for the great man’s affections under the same roof. At least one Douglass biographer claims that Douglass and Assing were indeed lovers. The Frederick Douglass portrayed by Daveed Diggs, who was excellent as Thomas Jefferson in the musical Hamilton, is lascivious and materialistic, two things I did not envision of the former slave turned abolitionist leader. Perhaps more galling is the night of drinking with Onion, as Frederick Douglass made it very clear at this point of his life that alcohol was anathema to him, a way for masters to further control their slaves. This mild complaint aside, I have found the series very entertaining and I can’t wait to see how the finale in Harpers Ferry is filmed by veteran director Albert Hughes. Hawke and Hughes have successfully captured Brown’s life and times, as well as the spirit of McBride’s fantastic novel, represented at the beginning of each episode: ‘All of this is true. Most of it happened.’ Robert Murray was born in northern Virginia and currently lives in the Atlanta area. He is the author of the Civil War blog The Blue & the Greyhound (www.