Graphic Novel Review: Surrounded: America’s First School for Black Girls, 1832

 reviewed by John Craig

Wilfrid Lupano and Stéphane Fert. Surrounded:  America’s First School for Black Girls, 1832. New York:  NBM Publishing, 2025. 144 pp. US $24.99 (Hardcover). ISBN:  978-1-6811-2348-6. https://nbmpub.com/products/surrounded

Wilfrid Lupano’s Surrounded, illustrated by Stéphane Fert, is a graphic novel that explores themes of resistance, education, and racial injustice in the antebellum United States. The story is centered on the Canterbury Female Boarding School, the first school for Black girls in America, founded in 1832 by abolitionist, Prudence Crandall. The visual storytelling plays a crucial role in shaping the narrative, and the artwork enhances the story’s emotional weight. Fert’s distinctive and unconventional color palette adds depth to the storytelling, though the distinction between Black and White characters could have been more pronounced. The Black characters are depicted in light brown tones, whereas the White characters are rendered in a blend of purple and dark pink hues. While visually intriguing, a stronger contrast might have provided additional clarity in representation. One of the most notable elements of the graphic novel is its opening, which features an excerpt from The Confessions of Nat Turner by Thomas R. Gray. This choice immediately situates the graphic novel within the historical narrative of Black resistance. One of the key questions that arises while reading Surrounded is its intended audience. The themes and subject matter suggest it is unsuitable for young children, implying that it is aimed at middle school readers or older.

However, despite this assumed readership, the language remains relatively restrained. Given the graphic novel’s historical setting--the 1830s--it is surprising that it does not engage more directly with the racial terminology of the time. During this period, African-Americans would have most commonly been referred to as “Negro” or “Colored” rather than “Black.” Moreover, on Southern plantations, the n-word would have been prevalent. A bolder engagement with period-accurate language could have enhanced the graphic novel’s historical realism. Lupano also deliberately decides to forgo the use of “slave dialect” in the dialogue. While historically accurate dialect can add authenticity, it often risks reinforcing outdated stereotypes or becoming a distraction for readers. However, the graphic novel inconsistently incorporates elements of “slave vernacular” in certain moments, while predominantly using modern language. This inconsistency raises questions about the graphic novel’s linguistic choices--Lupano might have benefited from either fully committing to historical dialect or exclusively using modern language for accessibility.

The book’s depiction of anti-abolitionist sentiment in Connecticut is historically accurate and highlights an often-overlooked reality. While Boston was a major center of abolitionist activity, New England was not uniformly abolitionist. Many White Northerners, including those in Connecticut, were indifferent to, or actively resisted, Black liberation despite the presence of vocal abolitionist movements. However, strong opposition to abolition existed even in Northern states, making the graphic novel’s choice to highlight Connecticut’s resistance an important and accurate representation of the complexities of the time. Although the graphic novel successfully portrays the dangers faced by Black Americans in the antebellum North, it overlooks several key aspects of African-American resistance and survival during this period. Plantation owners in the South were deeply fearful of slave rebellions and conspiracies, and Nat Turner’s rebellion was only one of many uprisings that occurred. The graphic novel does not address the broader landscape of resistance, such as:

 

• The New York Slave Revolt of 1712
• The Denmark Vesey Plot of 1822
• David Walker’s Appeal in 1829
• The Amistad slave ship rebellion in 1839
• The Creole slave mutiny of 1841
• The role of Maroon communities--escaped Africans who established independent settlements throughout the South and the Caribbean.

 

Additionally, the graphic novel does not acknowledge the impact of the “Fugitive Slave Act of 1793,” which allowed enslavers to capture fugitives across state lines, making life in the North perilous for free and escaped Black individuals. Furthermore, Surrounded does not engage with the widespread influence of the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804), which profoundly shaped the fears of Southern enslavers and led to harsher restrictions on enslaved people in the U.S. Acknowledging these broader historical events could have provided a more nuanced and layered representation of the period.

As the graphic novel progresses, it exhibits patterns commonly seen in works by White creators depicting civil rights struggles or resistance during slavery. While Lupano’s intentions seem well-meaning, Surrounded risks centering whiteness in a narrative that should prioritize Black voices. The story increasingly shifts its focus to a White female teacher at the school, framing much of the narrative around the risks she takes rather than the agency of the Black girls she teaches. This structure echoes White savior narratives seen in films, such as “The Help” and “Dangerous Minds,” where Black struggles are filtered through the lens of White benevolence. From an Afrocentric perspective, the graphic novel misses an opportunity to present Black people as the primary agents of their own liberation. The theory of Afrocentricity, developed by Molefi Kete Asante, emphasizes the importance of centering Black perspectives and highlighting Black agency in historical narratives. Black individuals in the antebellum period actively sought education and devised ways to protect themselves from the dangers of White supremacy. Instead of fully exploring these dynamics, Surrounded leans too heavily on the perspective of its White protagonist, sidelining the Black women who should be at the center of this story.

Another significant omission in Surrounded is the presence of Black men. While the graphic novel depicts White men in heroic roles, protecting Black women and the school, there is a noticeable absence of Black men in these positions. Given the historical realities of the time, this absence raises questions about whether the graphic novel unintentionally reproduces stereotypes about Black male disengagement from the struggles of Black women. Historically, Black men actively participated in educational initiatives, abolitionist movements, and the broader fight for Black freedom. Their exclusion from the narrative suggests a missed opportunity to provide a more holistic representation of Black community resistance.

Certain character choices in the graphic novel also reflect familiar tropes found in narratives about the Black struggle. One such example is a Black male character who appears to embody internalized anti-Blackness. While it is true that some Black individuals internalized racist ideologies, his presence in the story feels more like a recurring archetype in White-authored narratives than a fully developed character. His eventual death reinforces an all-too-common trope in which such characters are included only to meet a tragic end. What this character contributes to the larger narrative is unclear beyond fulfilling a predictable storytelling pattern.

Additionally, the depiction of a divine Black female figure is both compelling and problematic. The moment in which a student envisions God as a woman of color is powerful in its subversion of Eurocentric religious imagery. However, the decision to depict her as nude is an odd and unnecessary creative choice. While artistic depictions of divine figures often engage with themes of vulnerability and purity, in this context, it raises concerns about the exoticization of Black women’s bodies.

Surrounded is an engaging graphic novel with a unique artistic style and compelling subject matter. The visual elements enhance the storytelling, adding emotional depth to key moments. The graphic novel succeeds in highlighting the hostility Black-Americans faced--even in the North--and brings attention to an important, often overlooked part of history. However, it also falls into several common pitfalls that often appear in White-authored stories about Black resistance. The overemphasis on White characters, the sidelining of Black women’s agency, and the exclusion of Black men all weaken its impact as a story about Black liberation. That said, Surrounded is a valuable contribution to historical fiction, as it brings attention to an important chapter in Black history. Stories like this play a crucial role in sparking conversations about history, representation, and the ongoing need to center Black voices in narratives of Black liberation.