African Americans have been responsible for some of
the most significant achievements in all areas of endeavor, from medicine,
science and the arts, to business, law and government. Yet, these
contributions are rarely included in books or taught in the classroom,
thus denying African Americans their rightful place in a complete and
accurate picture of our country's history.
Joan
Potter has mined old document, records, letters, family histories and
government files, and compiled a wonderful resource book that showcases
the wide range of accomplishment among African Americans, often despite
poverty and discrimination. Here are leaders in government, entertainment,
education, science and medicine, the law, military, and in the business
world. The entries, arranged by category, include brief biographies and
are often accompanied by a photo or illustration.
“It is black women who are able to see out of their
blackness, out of their womanness, often out of their poverty, and
sometimes out of their privilege. So I believe it is going to be black
women who will find the answers to many of the problems we face
today.” —Johnnetta Cole, educator and former president of Spelman
College.
Their names are familiar, yet their importance is
often overlooked. These women are former slaves, housewives, college
professors, Nobel and Pulitzer and National Book Award and Olympic Gold
winners. And they are all survivorsand women who emerged from
servitude and discrimination to change the world. The vivid and
inspiring portraits inside tell the story of each of these AfricanAmerican women’s personal journey and her monumental
contributionsto oursociety.
The Divine Nine
The
History of African American
Fraternities & Sororities
by Lawrence C.
Ross Jr.
America's black fraternities and sororities are a
unique and vital part of 20th century African American history. Since the
creation of the first fraternity in 1906 at Cornell University they have
provided young black achievers with opportunities to support each other,
while serving their communities and the nation. From pioneering work in
the suffragette movement to extraordinary strides during the Civil Rights
era to life-changing inner-city mentoring programs in the 1990s, members
of these organizations share a proud and vital history of brotherhood,
sisterhood, and service.
Today, America's nine black fraternities and
sororities are two and one-half million members strong and among the most
powerful and influential groups in African American society—with chapters
at major universities and colleges across the country, including Stanford
University, Howard University and University of Chicago. Many of America's
most prominent business leaders, scientists, politicians, entertainers,
and athletes took their first steps toward making a difference in the
world in a fraternity or sorority. This extensive yet very accessible book
celebrates the spirit of excellence shared by these and other renowned
African Americans in brief, inspiring profiles.
Fully illustrated with photographs,The Divine
Ninechronicles an important yet previously neglected subject in
African American history, making it the first book of its kind, and one to
be treasured for generations to come.
Discovering Black
New York
is the book that takes you on a fascinating, off-the-beaten-track tour
of the Big Apple. From the world-famous Apollo Theatre to the
respected Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture to the many
excellent soul food restaurants, this unusual city travel guide covers
all the hot spots, including historical sites, museums and art
galleries, shopping, tours, nightclubs, and other attractions related
to African American history and culture.
A dramatic account of the Underground
Railroad, used by as many as 100,000 runaway slaves in their flight to
freedom, this book also serves as a guide to more than 300 Underground
Railroad sites, most of them open to the public. Some still contain the
ingenious hideaways residents used to conceal fugitive slaves from
pursuing slave hunters. These sites are located in the South, Canada, and
all of the Northeastern and Midwestern states.
Most major cities, such as Boston, Philadelphia, New
York, Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland, have existing sites, but many
smaller cities or villages, such as Xenia, Ohio; Farmington, Connecticut;
Williamsport, Pennsylvania; and Grinnell, Iowa, figured prominently in the
Underground Railroad. Some of the underground houses are now offices or
private homes, but others are museums, and many have been turned into
public restaurants, often with false doors, hidden rooms, and trapdoors
showcased for visitors.
The book is divided into regional sections with
listings of local tourism offices and historical societies for further aid
and offers easy-to-read maps. It also includes a comprehensive history of
slavery and the development of the Underground Railroad—the freedom
train—which helped change the course of American history.
Here is a plentifully illustrated guide to the
most powerful and socially significant movies made for, by, and about
African Americans. The films are presented by decade, from 1900 to the
present day, with introductions to each section connecting the movies
to the social currents of their time.
Evocative stills accompany the enlightening coverage of well-known
movies such as Body and Soul, The Emperor Jones, Carmen Jones, A Raisin
in the Sun, Shaft, Blacula, Malcolm X and Eve's Bayou, as well
as lesser-known but important films such as The Birth of a Race,
Countdown at Kusini, and To Sleep with Anger.
More than just a collection of descriptions, The 50 Most
Influential Black Films includes industry and popular reviews of each
film and incisive interviews with Hollywood greats, among them legendary
actor Ossie Davis and acclaimed directors Euzhan Palcy and Ivan Dixon.
Here, too, is information on the availability of the movies fully covered
in these pages, as well as suggestions about where to find and see the
other films listed.
As a
lawyer and criminal court judge, Bruce Wright has seen, first-hand, the
disturbing truth about how fundamentally unfair our judicial system is
toward African Americans. In this important book, he takes a hard look at
these inequities, documenting them with numerous cases drawn from his
years of experience in the courts.
With unflinching honesty, he tackles such
controversial subjects as the deep-seeded societal prejudices of white
judges, the lack of black judges, the long history of excluding blacks
from law schools and bar associations, the practice of setting higher bail
for black defendants, the anti-black biases of white jurors, and the black
defendant's limited access to quality legal representation.
Judge Wright also addresses the abuse of police
power against blacks, the dehumanizing conditions in jails populated
primarily by blacks, and the way that death penalty convictions
discriminate against blacks. Finally, he proposes remedies that must be
taken if the courts are truly to become a place of justice for all.
Timely and relevant,Black Robes, White Justiceis a book that every American should read in order to understand one of
the most important issues of our time.
In their heyday, the Negro Baseball Leagues were an
important part of black America, with games played between black teams
drawing as many as 40,000 fans in some large cities, and casting its
players in the role of celebrated heroes.
This concise history masterfully
evokes these long-gone days with portraits of such Hall of Famers as
Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, and Cool Papa Bell, who played for teams like
the Kansas City Monarchs, the Chicago American Giants, and the Pittsburgh
Crawfords.
This book provides a window into the black culture of
the times, reflecting the pride and the dreams of a people living under
the shameful burden of segregation. It offers the story of this great
American epicone that continues to fascinatetoday.
“For more than two hundred years African Americans have fought
for their own personal freedom as well as that of their fellow
Americans. Blacks contributed to the success of the revolution
that gained the country, but not its slaves, their independence.
Blacks played a significant role in preserving the union in the
Civil War and securing their own freedom. From the expanse of
the American West to the heights of San Juan Hill, from the
trenches of France to the heartlands of Germany and Japan, from
the icy mountain ridges of Korea to the thick jungles of Vietnam
and the sands of the Persian Gulf, African Americans have
performed loyally and bravely.” —From The African-American
Soldier
In this moving and revealing account, Michael Lee Lanning brings
to life the battles in which African Americans fought so
courageously to become full citizens by risking their lives for
their country. This updated edition includes analyses of
African-American soldiers’ involvement in recent U.S. conflicts,
including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
African-American
literature is rich with classic works of social and historical
merit—yet these books are often overlooked on mainstream lists
of “must-read” titles. Noted scholar Clifford Mason showcases
fifty of the most significant books that both document and
celebrate the bravery, spirit, and tenacity of the
African-American people from before the Civil War to the present
day. The result is a series of essays that recognize the social
and political contributions black men and women have made to
America.
The
African-American Bookshelf provides a deep and telling
commentary on each work’s exalted place in our history. Clifford
Mason explores the impact each has had on our culture, while
explaining how it rose above other stellar works to be selected
for this special volume. Leading the way is J. A. Rogers’s
extraordinary The World’s Greatest Men of Color. Other
entries include Ralph Abernathy’s And the Walls Came Tumbling
Down; The Negro in the Civil War by Benjamin Quarles; The
Guardian of Boston: Monroe Trotter by Stephen Fox; and
Calvin Hernton’s Sex and Racism in America. The life
stories of such luminaries as Harriet Tubman, Frederick
Douglass, Malcolm X, and W.E.B. DuBois round out the list of
these superlative titles.
Edgy and
insightful, The African-American Bookshelf is a peerless
study of the greatest, most influential, and culturally
significant books written by and about African-Americans. The
selections are certain to provoke discussion and dissent by
scholars and lay persons alike, while providing an essential
reading list for all Americans who wish to learn more about
where we’ve been as a nation—and what our future might hold.
Who are the most influential African-Americans that ever lived? After extensive thought and research, author and educator Dr.
Columbus Salley has selected the one hundred most influential
African-Americans of all time and ranked them according to their
contributions to the struggle for equality.
The Black 100 is not a debate on the most talented or most
famous black Americans but a listing—and a ranking—of those who have had
the greatest impact on the progress toward complete participation in our
society. Here are the one hundred who have fundamentally altered the ways
in which millions of Americans—-of all races—live today.
The names in The Black 100 read like a history of
African-Americans over nearly four hundred years. They include Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Zora Neale Hurston, Paul Robeson, Muhammad
Ali, James Baldwin, Jackie Robinson, Toni Morrison, Marcus Garvey,
Thurgood Marshall, and Arthur Ashe.
