A new cornerstone reference for students, scholars, and general readers, on Frederick Douglass-his life, writings, speeches, political views, and legacy. Like no other reference before it, The Frederick Douglass Encyclopedia celebrates and investigates the life, writings, and activism of one of the most influential African Americans in U.S. history. The Frederick Douglass Encyclopedia offers more than 100 alphabetically organized entries covering Douglass's extraordinary journey from childhood in bondage to forceful spokesperson for equality and freedom before, during, and after the Civil War. In addition to biographical details, the book looks at the full breadth of Douglass's writings and speeches, as well as the events that shaped his intellect and political views. Together, these entries create an enduring portrait of one of the nation's most iconic figures, a man who went from slavery to invited guest in Abraham Lincoln's White House, whose commitment to freedom for all led to his participation in the first women's rights conference at Seneca Falls, and whose profound influence ranged well beyond the borders of the United States. Comprises 100 alphabetically organized entries on the life, writings, activism, and influence of Frederick Douglass Presents a team of expert contributors providing insights into all facets of Douglass' life and work Includes drawings and photographs of the life of Frederick Douglass Outlines a chronology of the major events of the life of Frederick Douglass and of the nation during his lifetime Provides a bibliography of print and online resources for further reading

This study seeks to examine the life and work of Charles Hamilton Houston and the scope of this project will focus on the implementation and organization of the proposed plan in three ways: philosophical ideas, constructive engagement, and lasting contributions of this legal scholar activist. When compiling scholarly articles for this volume, the challenge was examining not just legal precedents of Houston, but his contributions to the study of civic engagement, with emphasis on privilege, racism, disparity, and educational philosophy.

Lynching occurred more in Mississippi than in any other state. During the 100 years after the Civil War, almost one in every ten lynchings in the United States took place in Mississippi. As in other Southern states, these brutal murders were carried out primarily by white mobs against black victims. The complicity of communities and courts ensured that few of the more than 500 lynchings in Mississippi resulted in criminal convictions. This book studies lynching in Mississippi from the Civil War through the civil rights movement. It examines how the crime unfolded in the state and assesses the large number of deaths, the reasons, the distribution by counties, cities and rural locations, and public responses to these crimes. The final chapter covers lynching's legacy in the decades since 1965; an appendix offers a chronology.

In 1965 Dudley F. Randall founded the Broadside Press, a company devoted to publishing, distributing and promoting the works of black poets and writers. In so doing, he became a major player in the civil rights movement. Hundreds of black writers were given an outlet for their work and for their calls for equality and black identity. Though Broadside was established on a minimal budget, Randall's unique skills made the press successful. He was trained as a librarian and had spent decades studying and writing poetry; most importantly, Randall was totally committed to the advancement of black literature. The famous and relatively unknown sought out Broadside, including such writers as Gwendolyn Brooks, Margaret Walker, Mae Jackson, Lance Jeffers, Etheridge Knight, Sonia Sanchez, Nikki Giovanni, Audre Lorde and Sterling D. Plumpp. His story is one of battling to promote black identity and equality through literature, and thus lifting the cultural lives of all Americans.

In spite of the historical conditions of poverty, illiteracy, and fear that have prevailed in Mississippi, blacks in the state have struggled to create a viable press that would record their world view. From Reconstruction to the present, the black press has been a major institution in the effort to secure freedom and equality. This work, the first complete treatment of the journalism experience of blacks in a single state, documents all the known examples of the black press in Mississippi from 1865 to 1985, including newspapers, newsletters, magazines, and radio and television. Born during slavery - when blacks exchanged information through music, myth, and religion - and growing out of necessity during the Civil War, the black press in Mississippi developed into a conservative, marginally relevant institution by the turn of the century. Julius Thompson examines its period of vigorous growth in the twenties, its decline during the depression, and its precarious balance in the 1960s: if black press publications and reporters appeared to be too conservative, the civil rights movement denounced them; if they appeared to be too radical, the police, Ku Klux Klan, and White Citizens' Council abused them, sometimes with arson, bombings, or beatings. All black journalists had reason to fear the state's Sovereignty Commission, which could and did curb and coerce the press. Though more black newspapers existed in the state in the 1960s than at any time since the twenties, the decade of struggle took its toll. With the death of Martin Luther King and the freedom movement's geographic shift to the North, the era gave way to disillusionment in the seventies. The black press in Mississippi continuesto struggle, week by week, to stay afloat, Thompson says, while the white press - competing successfully for advertising dollars - maintains a generally conservative stance on the social, political, and economic matters of greatest interest to blacks. He concludes that the challenge that confronted the black press in the last century looms into the next.