What is the importance of Brown's paintings in the book, From Slave Ship to Freedom Road?

Brown's paintings are of equal importance with the text. Using acrylics and a realistic artistic style, Brown conveys the deep emotions felt by the slaves. The attentive and sensitive reader empathizes with the trials, pain, sorrow, humiliation, agony, hope, determination, and courage that Brown has captured in the expressions and body language of his subjects. Paintings and text complement each other and, together, tell a greater story than either does alone.