It helps to know where we came from in order to understand ourselves. We have eight branches or four generations in our family tree as far back as our great-grandparents. The author was able to trace her ancestors even further back. Though she knew a lot about her ancestors, she did not know a lot about their struggles and little about the contributions they made toward advancing the African American race. This book will be of particular interest to those who find they are connected to this family tree. For those unrelated, it will serve immensely as a blueprint for one's own ancestral journey. For others, it is simply interesting and historical and a point of reference in time. Some prominent and determined people are a part of this family tree. In addition to portraying this particular family, this book captures ancient and historical events focused particularly on the enslavement, servitude, segregation and the ultimate success of the African American people. The author's goal is to document her family history and to locate her distant relatives. Simultaneously she desires to help others in search of their past since our past is a part of who we are as a people.

Kim Jai Sook Martin entered the world in 1935, during the Japanese occupation of her native Korea. She was the second daughter of an ordinary family, born to parents who had hoped for a boy; they dressed her as one until she was three, when her brother was born. By the age of six, she had already learned the price of her fierce independence: refusing to acknowledge the Japanese flag as the Korean national flag, she was denied entrance to her first year of school.

This early conflict set Kim Jai Sook on a lifetime quest to understand her obligations to her family, her culture, her country, herself, and, ultimately, to God. Hers is a story of perseverance, turmoil, and love, as she fought to maintain balance between duty and her own desires.

She set her goals high. As the survivor of Japanese subjugation and two wars, she committed herself to living as a responsible and worthy person. As an adult, in pursuit of her deep desire to become a teacher, she left Korea and built a new life in Canada, where her father's advice on dealing with people became her guiding principles.

This is her story.

Hospitality as a cultural trait has been associated with the South for well over two centuries, but the origins of this association and the reasons for its perseverance of ten seem unclear. Anthony Szczesiul looks at how and why we have taken something so particular as the social habit of hospitality which is exercised among diverse individuals and is widely varied in its particular practices and so generalized it as to make it a cultural trait of an entire region of the country. Historians have offered a variety of explanations of the origins and cultural practices of hospitality in the antebellum South. Economic historians have at times portrayed southern hospitality as evidence of conspicuous consumption and competition among wealthy planters, while cultural historians have treated it peripherally as a symptomatic expression of the southern code of honor. Although historians have offered different theories, they generally agree that the mythic dimensions of southern hospitality eventually outstripped its actual practices. Szczesiul examines why we have chosen to remember and valorize this particular aspect of the South, and he raises fundamental ethical questions that underlie both the concept of hospitality and the cultural work of American memory, particularly in light of the region's historical legacy of slavery and segregation.

A meticulous and exhaustive accounting of the total economic devastation wreaked on Black communities by mass incarceration with an action guide for vital reparations. Stolen Wealth, Hidden Power is a staggering account of the destruction wrought by mass incarceration. Finding that the economic value of the damages to Black individuals, families, and communities totals $7.16 trillion-roughly 86 percent of the current Black-White wealth gap-this compelling and exhaustive analysis puts unprecedented empirical heft behind an urgent call for reparations. Much of the damage of mass incarceration, Tasseli McKay finds, has been silently absorbed by families and communities of the incarcerated-where it is often compensated for by women's invisible labor. Four decades of state-sponsored violence have destroyed the health, economic potential, and political power of Black Americans across generations. Grounded in principles of transitional justice that have guided other nations in moving past eras of state violence, Stolen Wealth, Hidden Power presents a comprehensive framework for how to begin intensive individual and institutional reparations. The extent of mass incarceration's racialized harms, estimated here with new rigor and scope, points to the urgency of this work and the possibilities that lie beyond it.

This thought-provoking work examines the dehumanizing depictions of black males in the movies since 1910, analyzing images that were once imposed on black men and are now appropriated and manipulated by them. Moving through cinematic history decade by decade since 1910, this important volume explores the appropriation, exploitation, and agency of black performers in Hollywood by looking at the black actors, directors, and producers who have shaped the image of African American males in film. To determine how these archetypes differentiate African American males in the public's subconscious, the book asks probing questions-for example, whether these images are a reflection of society's fears or realistic depictions of a pluralistic America. Even as the work acknowledges the controversial history of black representation in film, it also celebrates the success stories of blacks in the industry. It shows how blacks in Hollywood manipulate degrading stereotypes, gain control, advance their careers, and earn money while making social statements or bringing about changes in culture. It discusses how social activist performers-such as Paul Robeson, Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, and Spike Lee-reflect political and social movements in their movies, and it reviews the interactions between black actors and their white counterparts to analyze how black males express their heritage, individual identity, and social issues through film. Discusses the social, historical, and literary evolution of African American male roles in the cinema Analyzes the various black images presented each decade from blackface, Sambo, and Mandingo stereotypes to archetypal figures such as God, superheroes, and the president Shows how African American actors, directors, and producers manipulate negative and positive images to advance their careers, profit financially, and make social statements to create change Demonstrates the correlation between political and social movements and their impact on the cultural transformation of African American male images on screen over the past 100 years Includes figures that demonstrate the correlation between political and social movements and their impact on cultural transformation and African American male images on screen

A bold and innovative social history, The Seed Is Mine concerns the disenfranchised blacks who did so much to shape the destiny of South Africa. After years of interviews with Kas Maine and his neighbors, employers, friends, and family - a rare triumph of collaborative courage and dedication - Charles van Onselen has recreated the entire life of a man who struggled to maintain his family in a world dedicated to enriching whites and impoverishing blacks, while South Africa was tearing them apart.

“If ever one wondered whether the life of a single man could illuminate a century, [this] brilliant biography … proves the point.” — Carmel Schrire, The Boston Globe

“An epic … [that] tells of the loss of human potential generated by a politics that surrendered generosity and openness to self-interest and bigotry. It reveals the way an ordinary man can survive with dignity in such a world.” — Vincent Crapanzano, the New York Times

“A magnificent book [with] implications beyond its modest claims … This remarkable story compels foreboding but also kindles hope, for it shows the extraordinary courage of 'ordinary' men under severe difficulties.” — Eugene Genovese, Emory University

“[Van Onselen] teases out the subtleties of the paternalistic relationships between rural whites and blacks which gave rise to real friendships but also to much betrayal, anger, and humiliation . . . It is a monumental masterpiece of research, and a poetic evocation of the human spirit to survive … ” — Linda Ensor, Business Day

A problematic, yet uncommon, assumption among many higher education researchers is that recruitment, retention, and engagement of African-American males is relatively similar and stable across all majority White colleges and universities. In fact, the harsh reality is that selective public research universities (SPRUs) have distinctive academic cultures that increase the difficulty of diversifying their faculty and student populations. This book will discuss how traditions and elitist assumptions make it very difficult to recruit, retain, and engage African-American males. The authors will examine these issues from multiple perspectives in three sections that highlight research, policies and practices impacting the experiences of African American males, including Pre-Collegiate Preparation, African American Male Student Athletes, and Undergraduate and Graduate Considerations for African American Male Initiatives.

Sidney Poitier remains one of the most recognizable black men in the world. Widely celebrated but at times criticized for the roles he played during a career that spanned 60 years, there can be no comprehensive discussion of black men in American film, and no serious analysis of 20th century American film history that excludes him. Poitier Revisited offers a fresh interrogation of the social, cultural and political significance of the Poitier oeuvre. The contributions explore the broad spectrum of critical issues summoned up by Poitier's iconic work as actor, director and filmmaker. Despite his stature, Poitier has actually been under-examined in film criticism generally. This work reconsiders his pivotal role in film and American race relations, by arguing persuasively, that even in this supposedly 'post-racial' moment of Barack Obama, the struggles, aspirations, anxieties, and tensions Poitier's films explored are every bit as relevant today as when they were first made.

This book is about a journey with the Center for Strategic Alliances in Education for School and District Improvement with stakeholders in a school targeted for school improvement. The first chapter puts into context the notion of school, its purpose and the incumbent variables of values, attitudes, organizational and leadership behaviors and instructional practices. Throughout the book, the authors look at three contextual boundaries: (1) historical, (2) the lens of former students and their perceptions of the presence or absence of those variables and (3) a comparison of labeled schools and the views and perceptions of stakeholders with regard to quality, equity and adequacy. This is a compelling journey which utilizes quantitative and qualitative data to take a critical look at the processes involved and the strategies used in America's journey in the quest for excellence. The authors' story is one of the pursuits of innovation, reinvention, equity, excellence and culturally relevant education experiences that inspire and reframe the discussion about "getting to excellence." The book is replete with illustrations of weaknesses hidden in abstract policies, institutional persistence, and culturally void programs, methodologies and practices. It advocates a methodology for arriving at well-conceived processes for achieving acceptance and academic excellence through collaboration among those to whom education is important - the children and the communities where they live.

Black celebrities in America have always walked a precarious line between their perceived status as spokespersons for their race and their own individual success -and between being "not black enough" for the black community or "too black" to appeal to a broader audience. Few know this tightrope walk better than Kanye West, who transformed hip-hop, pop and gospel music, redefined fashion, married the world's biggest reality TV star and ran for president, all while becoming one of only a handful of black billionaires worldwide. Despite these accomplishments, his polarizing behavior, controversial alliances and bouts with mental illness have made him a caricature in the media and a disappointment among much of his fanbase. This book examines West's story and what it reveals about black celebrity and identity and the American dream.