The Art of the Black Essay unveils the power of the African American essay to bring about a meditative shift in the minds of readers, to catapult them beyond racial ideology - by immersing them in it - and to elicit in them, ultimately, democratic change. This title outlines the specific tools of the trade, literary techniques through which the democratization process works: the uncanny, meditative moment of transcendency. This title also describes a psychological journey experienced by the essayist him/herself. Essay writing or life-writing is the vehicle to release the pull of ideology - the root of the "hierarchy of race" idea. In this book, the author makes a clear distinction between race as biology and race as ideology in order to align race with the culture, values, traditions and art of a people. The Art of theBlack Essay shows how African American essayists have transcended the pull of two cultural identities and achieved democratic change.

The power of the African American essay to bring about a meditative shift in the minds of readers, to catapult them beyond racial ideology, by immersing them in it, and to elicit in them, ultimately, democratic change, is unveiled in this book.
The work outlines specific tools of the trade, literary techniques through which the democratisation process works: double consciousness, the uncanny moment, the meditative moment and transcendency. Four African American authors are used as models, essentially for how Americans conflicted by the pull of two cultural identities can find peace.