The life of Howard Johnson, nicknamed "Stretch" because of his height (6'5"), epitomizes the cultural and political odyssey of a generation of African Americans who transformed the United States from a closed society to a multiracial democracy. Johnson's long-awaited memoir traces his path from firstborn of a multiclass/multiethnic" family in New Jersey to dancer in Harlem's Cotton Club to communist youth leader and, later, professor of Black studies. A Dancer in the Revolution is a powerful statement about Black resilience and triumph amid subtle and explicit racism in the United States. Johnson's engaging, beautifully written memoir provides a window into everyday life in Harlem-neighborhood life, arts and culture, and politics-from the 1930s to the 1970s, when the contemporary Black community was being formed. A Dancer in the Revolution explores Johnson's twenty-plus years in the Communist Party and illuminates in compelling detail how the Harlem branch functioned and flourished in the 1930s and '40s. Johnson thrived as a charismatic leader, using the connections he built up as an athlete and dancer to create alliances between communist organizations and a cross-section of the Black community. In his memoir, Johnson also exposes the homoerotic tourism that was a feature of Harlem's nightlife in the 1930s. Some of America's leading white literary, musical, and artistic figures were attracted to Harlem not only for the community's artistic creativity but to engage in illicit sex-gay and straight-with their Black counterparts. A Dancer in the Revolution is an invaluable contribution to the literature on Black political thought and pragmatism. It reveals the unique place that Black dancers and artists hold in civil rights pursuits and anti-racism campaigns in the United States and beyond. Moreover, the life of "Stretch" Johnson illustrates how political activism engenders not only social change but also personal fulfillment, a realization of dreams not deferred but rather pursued and achieved. Johnson's journey bears witness to critical periods and events that shaped the Black condition and American society in the process.

"The famous 16th century mathematician /philosopher Rene Descartes said, 'I think therefore I am.' In the early 20th century a fellow mathematician and scientist Albert Einstein said, 'Your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions.' Recently in the pilot episode of the TNT's Perception, Professor Daniel Peirce while teaching his psychology class says, 'Reality...is a figment of your imagination.' In this book Dr. Brian Johnson puts the veracity of these ideas it in a unique, Divine perspective, 'God thinks of me, therefore I am, but what I think of myself defines my limits.' Have you ever 'imagined' what it would be like to take the limits off our thoughts and think about yourself as the Infinite God thinks of you? Through Bible based teaching, laced with the Hebraic concepts of its language, Dr. Brian challenges you to take the limits off and imagine, SEE, as God sees. In revealing what Jesus Christ opened to us in His relationship in and to the Father, we can come to realize as the title says, '...Therefore I AM...' and it will change everything ""