Additional information
by Mumia Abu-Jamal (Contribution by), Molefi Kete Asante (Contribution by), James Baldwin (Contribution by)
This anthology of black writers traces the evolution of African-American perspectives throughout American history, from the early years of slavery to the end of the twentieth century. The essays, manifestos, interviews, and documents assembled here, contextualized with critical commentaries from Marable and Mullings, introduce the reader to the character and important controversies of each period of black history. The selections represent a broad spectrum of ideology. Conservative, radical, nationalistic, and integrationist approaches can be found in almost every period, yet there have been striking shifts in the evolution of social thought and activism. The editors judiciously illustrate how both continuity and change affected the African-American community in terms of its internal divisions, class structure, migration, social problems, leadership, and protest movements. They also show how gender, spirituality, literature, music, and connections to Africa and the Caribbean played a prominent role in black life and history.
Author Biography
Manning Marable is M. Moran Weston and Black Alumni Professor of African-American Studies and Director of the Center for Contemporary Black History at Columbia University.
Leith Mullings is Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at the Graduate Center, City University of New York.
