From historians in the field, ten essays (a few of them pedestrian
in style or leftist in perspective) chronologically detailing the
history of African-Americans from their arrival in the New World to
the presenta dark story, unfortunately, relieved by a few radiant
moments of hope.In the preface, Kelly and Lewis make some rather
sweeping Afrocentric claims (that black labor, for example, helped
give birth to capitalism), butwith the exception of the two last
essaysthe rest of their study offers nuanced commentary and
perceptive insights. The first essay, The First Passage 15021617,
details the origins of slavery and reads like a college textbook,
but Peter Wood's Strange New Land 16171776 is an elegant and vivid
account of the years in which slavery was transformed from a
potentially temporary condition to a race-based and increasingly
permanent state. The essays offer brief vignettes of the
famousFrederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and Martin Luther Kingas
well as portraits of ordinary men and women (`I had a kind master,
but I didn't know but any time I might be sold away off, and when I
found I could get my freedom, I was very glad,` one former slave
observed). Well-chosen facts illustrate the relevant periods and
the constantly evolving nature of the black struggle: in Georgia
during the Revolutionary War, a third of the slaves took advantage
of the British invasion to escape; in New Jersey, slaves were not
freed until nearly 30 years after the Declaration of Independence;
during the 1930s, Federal intervention caused black illiteracy to
drop by ten percent. The last two essays, which cover the recent
present, reflect the political bias of Kelly and Lewis and offer a
benign take on the Black Panther's attempts at armed insurrection
while scanting the achievements of General Colin Powell. A
comprehensive and vividly narrated history, enriched by well-chosen
illustrations, that is as much an epic-in-progress as a scholarly
record. (color and b&w illustrations) (Kirkus Reviews)
This book is the only comprehensive, illustrated history of African Americans. Written by the most prominent of the new generation of historians, this book describes how African Americans have shaped and changed the history of this country. It traces the history of Africans in America from 1502 to the present. The book looks at American history from the unique perspective of African American, paying special attention to the forging of African American communities, the changing statues of African Americans over time, and the transformation that has been wrought through social protest. Primary sources are used extensively, and there will be an 8-page insert of colour illustrations of cultural significance.
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