Product Description
White Americans, abetted by neo-conservative writers of all hues, generally believe that racial discrimination is a thing of the past and that any racial inequalities that undeniably persist--in wages, family income, access to housing or health care--can be attributed to African Americans' cultural and individual failures. If the experience of most black Americans says otherwise, an explanation has been sorely lacking--or obscured by the passions the issue provokes. At long last offering a cool, clear, and informed perspective on the subject, this book brings together a team of highly respected sociologists, political scientists, economists, criminologists, and legal scholars to scrutinize the logic and evidence behind the widely held belief in a color-blind society--and to provide an alternative explanation for continued racial inequality in the United States.

While not denying the economic advances of black Americans since the 1960s, Whitewashing Race draws on new and compelling research to demonstrate the persistence of racism and the effects of organized racial advantage across many institutions in American society--including the labor market, the welfare state, the criminal justice system, and schools and universities. Looking beyond the stalled debate over current antidiscrimination policies, the authors also put forth a fresh vision for achieving genuine racial equality of opportunity in a post-affirmative action world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

An urgently needed dose of reality for all americans...
The conservative, european-american movement's declaration of the end of white supremacy in this country requires the kind of challenge offered by "Whitewashing Race". This book offers every fair-minded reader an opportunity to judge the realities that still persist as a consequence of 250 years of chattel slavery, 100 years of complete segregation, lynchings and restrictions on work and educational opportunities. The efforts needed to create a truly non-racialized culture in America are far from over.

Race remains our most significant social issue
I read this book hoping to find some ideas about the status of race in post civil rights America.Although I found the book helpful and infomative, I do remain highly concerned that the issues the book addresses seem static.The authors do offer a lot of statistics and concise ideas to help understand the problems concerning race in America.

The attack on the racial realists and conservitive views on race really caught my attention.I find the arguements in this book far more convincing.I struggled to articulate how the conditions of American culture create a negative experience for blacks, but this book articulates the message clearly.I find myself reading and hearing arguments about race with a new understanding.

3.5 stars, against Stephen Thernstrom
Should one send political scientists to do a historian's job?That is the question one has to ask about this book compiled by a consortium of political scientists, in response to the "racial realism" of today's right-centrist consensus.This consensus, argued by such authors as Jim Sleeper, Tamara Jacoby, John McWhorter, The New Republic and the renowned historians of American immigration Stephen and Abigail Thernstrom, argue that racism is not really a problem in American life.To the extent that African-Americans are disadvantaged it is because of their own failings or, somewhat more tactfully, the failings of the black politicians and the guilty liberals they (overwhelmingly) support.

This book argues that this fundamentally optimistic view is wrong.They are right to say so and their book is very detailed and comprehensive (the Thernstroms in particular are repeatedly criticized). Still the book is not perfect.The book makes an error in numbering its footnotes in chapter five.It also incorrectly says that until recently there were no African-Americans elected from North Carolina since Reconstruction (one in fact was elected in 1898).The style is not very engaging, it consists mostly of summaries of papers in economics, political science, sociology and the other social sciences. The result is a certain dryness and abstract quality that could use more historical analysis (the treatment of unions is somewhat superficial).The discussion of racism is not the most thoughtful available (and little is said about Latinos).Nevertheless one should not ignore its points."Racial realists" argue that racism is not a problem because only a handful of people would support racist attitudes in opinion polls.There are several problems with this argument.Aside from the fact that people do not necessarily volunteer their support of unpopular ideas, it turns the concept of racism and racist harm into a question of pure malice.If there is none (or if it somehow "rational") there is no racism.One might ask why showing discrimination should require showing malice, when other torts merely require showing negligence? Also it is a non-sequitur to argue that if whites are not malicious, blacks and/or liberals must have screwed up. Moreover, rephrasing the question can lead to rather different results:in a 1980 poll only 5% supported segregation, but only 40% supported a law stating that a homeowner could not refuse to sell because of race.The authors go on about how in the post-war period African-Americans were discriminated in social security legislation, GI bill benefits and housing segregation.We also relearn about the insufficiently notorious effects of urban renewal and automation.

What is best about the book are the statistics it provides showing consistent racial gaps, even when corrected for class, age, income or any other variable.For example 53% of mortgages in black Chicago middle-class neighbourhoods are from sub-prime lenders, whereas only 12% of mortgages in white neighbourhoods are.African-Americans are 25% less likely to get mammograpy screening, notwithstanding age or income, while a 1985 Massachusetts study showed that whites underwent significantly more corony surgery than blacks. 61% of basketball players were black in 1996-97, but 81.5 % of coaches were white; 52% of football players are black but in 2001 nearly 97% of head coaching positions were white.During the 1990s in Los Angeles, Latinos make up 41% of the population, but only 6% of the jurors.It is often said that spiralling illegitimacy is the key reason for persistent black poverty today, but the President's Council of Economic Advisers has noted that the poverty gap would have fallen by only a fifth had there been no changes in black family structure since 1967. Likewise the Thernstroms et al have argued that high black youth unemployment is the result of their demand for excessive wages.Yet studies have shown that their length of employment is not correlated with wage demands. The gap between black and white test scores has infuriated potential university students.But the correlation between scores and success is somewhat weaker for women and Asians.Another questionable use of data by "racial realists" is their concentration of Berkeley in the 1980s.There the white graduation rate within 6 years was 88% but only 59% for blacks.But in 28 other colleges the white average was 86% and the black average 75%.Might this not say more about the problems of particular universities than an inherent cultural failing of African-Americans?

We also learn about a third wave of criminology scholarship and we learn how only 26% of the gap between blacks and whites drug offences in Pennsylvania is the result of the higher arrest rate among blacks.Even after making every allowance Georgia blacks are five times more likely to get life sentences for drug offences than whites.We see at every stage of the arrest process, from scholars such as Madeline Wordes, George Bridges, and Michael Leiber, a clear bias against African-Americans.Although the prospect that somewhere, somehow affirmative action might hurt white men has haunted the conservative imagination, only 4% of 1990-94 sex/age discrimination suits were launched by white men, (yet they file three-quarters of age discrimination suits).Oddly enough, racial realists have blamed blacks for inadequate black representation.Supposedly they won't vote for whites.Yet in the past few decades only 0.5% of white majority districts elections have chosen a black representative.And whites have shown great reluctance or active hostility in voting for blacks in prominent elections in Chicago, Philadelphia and California.The authors conclude with sensible suggestions for reforms in education, stronger civil rights protection and an improved welfare state.

Informative & Thought-Provoking
It presents information in such a way that you are at the very least, forced to consider what they've presented. As a self-identified "African-American" who considers himself a conservative, I think this book does a great job of presenting the foundation of how the problem of race still exists and presents pragmatic ideas - however controversial - that are far better, in my view, than maintaining the status quo.

If those who on principle oppose these ideas (specifically, the conservatives this book spends a lot of time lambasting) would come out with substantive data to disprove what this book says, the race debate would become a lot clearer and would bring us closer to realizing a better America for all.

grab your highlighter
For anyone interested in how the politics of race are presented in today's world (affirmative action, prison sentencing, etc.), this book is a definite must-read.The authors analyze the conservative's overly-simplistic view of race as being based simply on whether a person exhibits overt prejudice while ignoring the larger implications of accumulated wealth and advantages enjoyed by whites from years of legal discrimination.

The authors poke holes in much of the misinformation coming from the conservative side of the aisle, and reveal just how sinister and permeating racial bias still is in America.Grab this book, a good cup of coffee, a high-lighter, and become updated on the dynamics of race in 2003 America. ... Read more

Product Description

"[Sure to become] a classic in the field. Highly recommended." -- Library Journal

"... full of surprises and intrigues and written in a beautiful style.... a breath of fresh air on the African-Islamic-American connection." -- Journal of the American Academy of Religion

The involvement of black Americans with Islam reaches back to the earliest days of the African presence in North America. Part I of the book explores these roots in the Middle East, West Africa, and antebellum America. Part II tells the story of the "Prophets of the City" -- the leaders of the new urban-based African American Muslim movements in the 20th century. Turner places the study of Islam in the context of the racial, ethical, and political relations that influenced the reception of successive presentations of Islam, including the West African Islam of slaves, the Ahmadiyya Movement from India, the orthodox Sunni practice of later immigrants, and the Nation of Islam. This second edition features a new introduction, which discusses developments since the earlier edition, including Islam in a post-9/11 America.

Customer Reviews (5)

The Chicago Defenders not a reputable source for consciously written manuscripts
R. Turner does a fair job with book until he comes to Noble Drew Ali his entire frame of referrence comes from the Chicago Defender. A paper known for it's sensationalizing untrue stories of lurid sex and perverted crimes to sell more papers. Unfortunately it has been 70 years since D Ali's death and over a 100 since his birth and the Defenders articles are some of the only remaining sources of the time of D Ali on the earth plane, therefore the Defender unfortunately is one of the sources to satisfy the public's hunger for knowledge of this mysterious and great man. I would recommend the book "The Huevolution of Sacred Muur Science Past and Present" by Noble Timothy Myers-EL for a more objective commentary on the life of Drew Ali in chapter v.

Fascinating but...
I found this book to be clear and well-written, with a wealth of interesting and little-known information about the history of Muslims in the United States- not only African Americans. The first white American convert to Islam, the early communities from Eastern Europe, and the colorful Ahmadiyya movement are described in detail along with biographies of African American Muslim slaves, and black Muslim movements from the 1910s onward. He shows that just as in West Africa, Islam was spread among American blacks in a form that included local ideologies (in this case, racist nationalism). And, as in Africa, orthodox Islam was eventually adopted.
With that said, this book is written from a non-Muslim perspecitive, which is occasionally too evident. One may argue that concepts that the author claims were precedented in the late 1800s- (like the "jihad of words," Islam as a force to unify the oppressed), were actually present in the religion from the beginning. In addition, Turner's "myth of a race-blind Islam," takes a great deal of consideration...Basically, although this is a great book, it is time for American Muslims to begin writing their own history.

Islam in the African-American Experience.
Turner argues three interesting points in his faddish though well-researched study:First, Islam was a significant factor in the lives of American slaves.In particular, it had a disproportionate role in inspiring resistance to the institution of slavery:"writing in Arabic, fasting, wearing Muslim clothing, and reciting and reflecting on the Quran were the keys to an inner struggle of liberation against Christian tyranny." In reaction, whites sought the return of Muslims to Africa, "to rid America of Islam."

Second, this faith (what Turner calls the "old Islam") then died out.By the time of the Civil War, Islam among blacks was, "for all practical purposes, defunct."

Third, a "new Islam" took many years to revive and did so through the circuitous route of Pan-African nationalism, black Christian ministers distressed at the racism of their denomination, white American converts to Islam, Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association, Nobel Drew Ali's Moorish Science Temple of America, and the Indian-based Ahmadiyya Movement to America.W. D. Fard emerged from this eccentric background in 1930 and preached the religion that would eventually crystalize as the Nation of Islam.Turner then reliably covers the more familiar ground of Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, and Louis Farrakhan, concluding that "African-American Islam has finally arrived on the center stage of American religion and politics."

Middle East Quarterly, December 1997

trapped in an enigma
Turner has produced a fairly interesting book which expands on his superior 1988 article, The Ahmadiyya Mission to Blacks in the United States in the 1920s" (_The Journal of Religious Thought_, Vol 44, No 2, Pp. 50-66). Although based entirely upon secondary sources, he presents some information that will be new to students of African-American Islam. His efforts unravel however when he becomes trapped in the enigma of W. D. Fard's identity. Fard, the mysterious founder of the Nation of Islam who knighted Elijah Muhammad as his successor, fled from Detroit in 1934 creating one of those apocryphal riddles that has distracted serious scholars of religion ever since. Rather than explore the alternative development of orthodox Islam in America - a subject badly in need of publishers' attention - Turner jumps from Fard to Farrakhan, another sensationalist personality who hardly represents the sentiments of contemporary African American Muslims. The concluding chapter deals with the interesting notion of religion as a cultural commodity, but it seems like an afterthought unrelated to the text.

A much needed piece of Scholarship
Turner's work provieds a much-needed insight into a little-understood aspect of American History.His work provides a clear chronology and argument to help the reader understand the impact that Islamic ideas andsymbols have had upon the United States ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great transaction!
This book was as advertised in great condition.The shipping was super fast.Highly recommend!! ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
Compiled in this volume is the most significant accumulation of works on the subject of African American leadership to date. As the field of leadership studies continues to grow, this timely work contributes to an understanding of the activities of those people and organizations that have been leaders of people of African descent and have contributed to the cultural and political affairs of the black community, as well as the representation of the black community in mainstream American life. The annotated entries cover a variety of works on subjects such as dedicated black leadership studies, local descriptions and analyses, biographies, leadership organizations, and audio-visual materials. This reference is an important contribution to the field of leadership studies in general, and African American leadership in particular, and will serve as a valuable research tool for educators and practitioners alike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Educational and formational in one book
As a pastor and graduate student I felt the various authors created an enlightening hermeneutical view with which to read the Bible.Being stretched beyond my world view allowed the scriptures to take on life and vitality.Many thanks to the editor who successfully constructed a tapestry of knowledge, wisdom and experience.

A MOVING WORK!`
This book is a must for any preacher of integrated congregations and advisable for the rest.

Set the Captives Free
This is an awesome book! It's amazing how most American Christian theologians try to deny the impact of culture and society while promoting a staunch Eurocentric view that whitewashes the bible and which seeks to deny Africans, Asians, and Women their place in the Gospel. They just sustain the economic and political structures that oppress. This goes against the kingdom of God and all its prophets! Look at the current ethnic makeup in the movie, "The Passion of Christ!" Jesus never set foot in Europe and lived in Africa and Asia. Yet, some Christians are busy touting the historical accuracy of the movie!! . When the gospel reached Europe the work on the cross was done and Pentecost has already started!

African Holy Bible Jubilee illustration
Hello in this new mellineum,I am trying to ascertain if a bible of such is in existence.My search so far has led me to no avale.If there is a sight or book in your possesion inwhich i can reveiw please relay information tome.Thank you and happy new mellenium.

A Must Read for Seminarians of ALL COLORS!
Though this book is edited by a heavy brother in Cain Hope Felder, each chapter is written by a different black scholar. This makes for some deep and fresh new perspectives of blacks in the bible, the bibleitself, and how others see the race through the bible.

Chapters 7 &10, I found, are the most interesting. Once you get into it, you won't beable to put it down.

Most other books try to talk "around" the bible bycomparing it to other ancient writings, but this book goes straight to thesource and deals directly with the bible, and its ancient writers andinterpreters.

It's Good. ... Read more

Product Description
African American language is central to the teaching of linguistics and language in the United States, and this book covers the entire field--grammar, speech, and verbal genres. It also reveals the various historical strands that must be identified in order to understand the development of African American English. These are the social and cultural history of the American South, the urban and northern black popular culture, as well as policy issues. The current heated political and educational debates about the status of the African American dialect are also addressed. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (6)

A rich find
The information Dr. Taylor has amassed in this slim but powerful book provides lovers of history with a compact guide through the ages of African-American life; and when synthesized, the book reveals the never-ending but often overlooked or left unseen contributions African-Americans have made at every level and stage of American life. Not to be missed.

An Invaluable Item
I was initially impressed upon reading his intro which prompted me to further emamine the book. I am not a big fan of chronologies/timelines but reading Taylor's well-crafted book was an eye opener.What I liked most about the timelines was the manner in which he prefaces the sections to tie together the dates in an epoch and the way he inserts happenings in other parts of the world or outside the U.S that give perspective and a basis for comparison. This book deserves to be every academic library reference collection any reputable collection of Black Studies books.Terrific job!

A valuable resource for those interested in important tid bits of Black History
Professor Quintard Taylor has written a very informative , triumphant book that discusses often overlooked, yet important factors in African American History. It is a valubale contribution to the profession. Moreover, it has mass appeal to individuals outside of academia. This book should be required reading for high school and college level courses.

Valuable resource!
This useful and concise timeline of African American history puts events into a time context, making relationships through time more clearly apparent with its simplicity and uncluttered directness.Easy to use tool, and a good starting point for additional follow up. Valuable for students and those seeking an overview of African American history in a timeline format.
Dr. Quintard Taylor is a well-known and respected academic scholar, and for more in-depth information, his other books can be accessed. In Search of the Racial Frontier: African Americans in the West, 1528-1990;The Forging of a Black Community: Seattle's Central District, from 1870 Through the Civil Rights Era (The Emil and Kathleen Sick Lecture-Book Series in Western History and Biography);African American Women Confront the West, 1600-2000, and more.

Easy-to-use, straight-forward, and enlightening
What a brilliant resource Dr. Taylor has provided! As he rightly states in his intro, time lines are tremendous tools that empower the reader with quickly accessible information, put inside the context of events. This is a great book for educators (of all ages), students (likewise), parents, and readers looking for a handy tool to navigate the long, storied history of African's and their American descendants. ... Read more

Product Description
This definitive history of African-American theatre embraces companies from across the U.S., as well as the anglophone Caribbean and African-American companies touring Europe, Australia and Africa. Representing a catholicity of styles, from African ritual to European forms, amateur to professional, and political nationalism to integration, the volume covers all aspects of performance. It includes minstrel, vaudeville, and cabaret acts, as well as shows written by whites that used black casts. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

African-Amerian theatre, African-american History, African-American music history
This is the most comprehensive and accurate book on the subject that I have seen. As a researcher in the field of music and African-American history, I was delighted to find it.

It's all here - slavery to european, amateur to professional
Many of us take for granted the ability to go out on the town and enjoy a play about African Americans. Such plays as A Raisin in the Sun, Dream Girls, and The Piano Lesson have found their way into the hearts of many a theater goer and into the cultural makeup of this country.However, the making of these plays would not have been possible if not for the struggle and sacrifices of many theatrical pioneers. A History of African American Theatre by Errol G. Hill and James V. Hatch is an extensive anthology of all types of African American theatre that gives a wonderful historical perspective that we can use to interpret some of what we see today.The book includes information on minstrels, vaudeville, cabaret acts, musicals, and opera.It's the complete historical reference for the African American theatre lover.

In truth, this book also was exciting to some of my friends who are more history buffs than theatre lovers.I also confess to being very impressed with the author, Mr. Hill, who was the foremost historical scholar in the African American and Caribbean theatre fields and produced and directed more than 120 plays and pageants during a life recently cut short by cancer. Although I never had the pleasure of meeting him, he clearly was a giant!

The book's appeal - like the book itself - has great breadth & depth.
--- Sheldon Dennis, VP - Family Digest Magazine ... Read more

Product Description
Black Comedians on Black Comedy is the only up-to-date book to examine African-American humor. Comedian Darryl Littleton traces the history and evolution of "black comedy" in his narrative and through the 125 interviews he conducted with some of the top African-American comedians in the world. Those interviewed include Dick Gregory, Sinbad, Eddie Murphy, Mike Epps, Cedric the Entertainer, Nick Cannon, Bernie Mac, Eddie Griffin, Damon Wayans, Arsenio Hall, Chris Rock, Marla Gibbs, Robert Townsend, and John Witherspoon. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

ok
Not too short and not too long. detailed and specific. it makes sense, informative, and entertaining.

a fantastic book
there is nothing like Black Comedians. I mean without Humor in this Country a Brother would truly be hopeless. through the struggle&all the Ism that went down back in the day&that still is happening now. laughter has always been the Best Medicine&it always hits the spot ten fold. this Book is tight. Interviews,etc... a Fantastic Book. very soulful&RIGHT ON!!

long way from there to here
This book goes through the history of how black comedy became what we know it as today.Eddie Murphy, Sinbad, Cedric the Entertainer, Chris Rock, Damon Wayans...these are all successful black comedians that are common names around US households today.This book tells the stories of those that came before them.This book has wonderful quotes as well as short biographies of various comedians.It's a great read and I highly suggest this book to anyone who finds many of todays African-American comedians funny! ... Read more

Product Description
A landmark work in the study of Black theater and drama, African American Theatre offers the first comprehensive history of a major cultural phenomenon until now too often neglected.In this fast-paced investigation, Hay seeks out the origins of Black theater in social protest, as envisioned by W.E.B. Dubois, and as a formal branch of arts theater.Divided between these opposing forces--the activist and the artistic--Black theater, Hay argues, faced conflicts of identity whose traces still haunt the medium today. African American Theatre thus offers a means of locating Black theater in the larger context of American theater and in the continuum of African American history from the nineteenth century to the present--and in doing so offers a profile of dramatic expression shaped and scarred by the forces of repression, of self-affirmation, and of subversion.Sweeping in scope, original in approach and provocatively written, this important book mines the origins and influences directing Black theater, while charting a course for its future survival. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Definitely worthwhile
African American Theatre: An Historical and Critical Analysis", by Samuel A. Hay, is a must for every theatre enthusiast who has long realized that general works on Theater History show an appalling lack in dealing with the contribution of the African American community to theatre (like so many other 'histories'!). The first two chapters of Hay's book provide a very dense history of African American theatre from 1898 to the present and correspond to the two major schools of African American theatre: the Black Experience School of Drama, and the Black Arts School of Drama, the first based on Alain Locke's philosophy, the second on the teachings of sociologist William E. B. DuBois.The classification of the two schools into periods, classes and subclasses gets very confusing very fast, but Hay provides a helpful outline of the divisions at the beginning of his book.I admit that Hay's system of classification presented a problem for me: I have never liked people putting everything into preconceived little boxes.This first part of the book is very informative, but also extremely dense. The last three chapters of Hay's book comprise the 'critical analysis' portion, which simultaneously works as a very passionate appeal to African American theatre enthusiasts/students to persevere and help keep African American theatre alive.

I definitely recommend this book to all African American theatre students and to everyone else who is seriously interested in all aspects of theatre history, and who has long suspected that there might be more to African American theatre than "A Raisin in the Sun". It's not easy reading, but definitely worthwhile.

Definitely worthwhile
African American Theatre: An Historical and Critical Analysis", by Samuel A. Hay, is a must for every theatre enthusiast who has long realized that general works on Theater History show an appalling lack in dealing with the contribution of the African American community to theatre (like so many other 'histories'!). The first two chapters of Hay's book provide a very dense history of African American theatre from 1898 to the present and correspond to the two major schools of African American theatre: the Black Experience School of Drama, and the Black Arts School of Drama, the first based on Alain Locke's philosophy, the second on the teachings of sociologist William E. B. DuBois.The classification of the two schools into periods, classes and subclasses gets very confusing very fast, but Hay provides a helpful outline of the divisions at the beginning of his book.I admit that Hay's system of classification presented a problem for me: I have never liked people putting everything into preconceived little boxes.This first part of the book is very informative, but also extremely dense. The last three chapters of Hay's book comprise the 'critical analysis' portion, which simultaneously works as a very passionate appeal to African American theatre enthusiasts/students to persevere and help keep African American theatre alive.

I definitely recommend this book to all African American theatre students and to everyone else who is seriously interested in all aspects of theatre history, and who has long suspected that there might be more to African American theatre than "A Raisin in the Sun". It's not easy reading, but definitely worthwhile. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Contextual view of African American leadership
Today, despite the progress that has been made since the Civil Rights Act,systemic, and often unconscious discrimination persists against AfricanAmericans.Why is this the case?I believe Walters and Smith would arguethat presently Americans are lack the ability to analyze society inpolitical, economic, and structural terms. The result is that we, as asociety, and African Americans, as a minority, are blind to the veryobstacles that must be overcome.The value of "African AmericanLeadership" lies in its ability to situate the discussion of AfricanAmerican leadership in the midst of a social, political, and historicalexegesis.The weakness of the book rest with its deficiency in theoreticaland methodological approaches, as well as its lack of attention to howother societal inequalities besides race (socioeconomic stratification, forinstance) should be part of the discussion.Walters and Smith, take on thechallenge of educating their audience about the social and historicalforces that influence "Negro" and later "Black"leaders' effectiveness throughout history and even today.Towards thisend, I feel "African American Leadership" has met the challenge. The contemporary pioneers of the movement towards social equity must buildon and learn from Walters' and Smith's discussion. ... Read more

Product Description
This groundbreaking volume establishes new perspectives on black history - its scholarship and pedagogy, scholars and interpreters, and evolution as a profession. Pero Gaglo Dagbovie discusses a wide range of issues and themes for understanding and analyzing African American history, the twentieth century black historical enterprise, and the teaching of African American history for the twenty-first century. Additional topics include the hip-hop generation's relationship to and interpretations of African American history; past, present, and future approaches to the subject; and, the social construct of knowledge in African American historiography. An exclamation of definitions of black history from W. E. B. Du Bois' "The Souls of Black Folk" and a survey of early black women historians lend further dimension and authenticity to the volume. A bold contribution to the growing fields of African American historiography and the philosophy of black history, "African American History Reconsidered" offers numerous analytical frameworks for understanding and delving into a variety of dimensions of the African American historical experience. ... Read more

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Taking the influential work of Arthur Huff Fauset as a starting point to break down the false dichotomy that exists between mainstream and marginal, a new generation of scholars offers fresh ideas for understanding the religious expressions of African Americans in the United States. Fauset's 1944 classic, Black Gods of the Metropolis, launched original methods and theories for thinking about African American religions as modern, cosmopolitan, and democratic. The essays in this collection show the diversity of African American religion in the wake of the Great Migration and consider the full field of African American religion from Pentecostalism to Black Judaism, Black Islam, and Father Divine's Peace Mission Movement. As a whole, they create a dynamic, humanistic, and thoroughly interdisciplinary understanding of African American religious history and life. This book is essential reading for anyone who studies the African American experience.

Customer Reviews (1)

Good won't have impact of (1944) book though
This book attempts to critique and expound on Arthur Fauset's classic "Black God's of the Metropolis"attempted with the use of a cast of 11 writers. The most successful are Nora Rubel and her analysis of Fauset's Prophet Cherry Black Hebrews movement (Chapt 3) and how it had a likeness to the Moorish Science Temple of the day.

Jacob Dorman does a fine job with (Chapt6) "A true Moslem is a true spiritualist Black Orientalism and Black Gods of the Metropolis". He gives insightful information on a little known leader named Father Hurley and the U.H.S.A. movement of 1923. Sylvester Johnson in (Chapt7)(Proper Religion and the Colonial State) reveals how various govt agencies set out to destroy said movements by any means necessary. Daniella Sigler(Chapt 2) breaks down the Daddy Grace movement and mentions how he refused to be called negreo, black or colored (he said he was Portugese and from Jerusalem).

Overall a pretty good read except for Chapter 5 by Edward Curtis IV it seems he has been chasing the origins of Noble Drew Ali's doctrine for quite some time now with little success. Mr Curtis seems to be confused with the syncrentized teachings of D Ali. but I must be clear in no way does the Shrine House fraternity impart more than minimal knowledge of true Islam to an individual. Mr. Curtis revisits this hypothesis to often, to the point of over redundence. This will happen time and again when the sources of information flows from outside of Temple sources. Thus what could have been a 4 star has to be limited to a 3 star. ... Read more

Product Description
Wilma Dunaway contends that studies of the U.S. slave family are flawed by the neglect of small plantations and export zones and the exaggeration of slave agency. Using data on population trends and slave narratives, Dunaway identifies several profit-maximizing strategies that owners implemented to disrupt and endanger African-American families. These effective strategies include forced labor migrations, structural interference in marriages and childcare, sexual exploitation of women, shortfalls in provision of basic survival needs, and ecological risks. This book is unique in its examination of new threats to family persistence that emerged during the Civil War and Reconstruction. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The hell of slavery in the Appalachians
If you were a slave woman of past 12 in the Appalachians you had the shortest life expectancy of anyone in the United States.The malnutrition, overwork during and after pregnancy, the intensive breeding to sell your children, and the constant sexual terrorism by white masters, not to speak of the violence regularly rained down on slaves, the unsanitary living and food conditions, and the exposure to noxious industrial, mining, and agricultural biproducts you were subjected to would kill you quicker than any other category in the whole country!

Slavery in Appalachia was worse than slavery anywhere else in the United States, especially for women and children. Dunaway who has build an exhaustive database of information on the economic, social, and political history of Appalachia under slavery, shines her light not only on the family, but the general conditions that African Americans in the Mountain areas faced under slavery and during the years following emancipation.She shatters the myth that slavery was kinder, more gentler in these areas than it was on the big plantations of the cotton, rice, and sugar cane South.

Appalachia had higher concentrations of industrial slavery where slaves were owned or rented out to mines, mills, saltworks, railroads, canals, and other businesses that worked them almost to death, surrounded them with dangerous industrial pollutants and kept them in worse conditions than their mules and horses. Smaller Appalachian rural slave holders often had a lower margin and less resources than Southern plantations to house and feed their slaves, and often used more severe violence and torture to keep their slaves slaves. Moreover in the last three decades of slavery, Appalachian masters got more into the business of breeding slaves for the labor hungry market of the Deep South, forcing slave mothers to have children again and again and again regardless of their health, but sending them back into the fields and mills or to nurse white children when their own children needed their nuturing.

Dunaway makes an important contribution to the general study of slavery and African American history and health by describing the different nutritional needs Africans enslaved in American had as a result of how evolution had bred in biological resistance to tropical health hazards.She explains that these needs along with the harsh work Appalachian and all slaves faced means that their nutritional needs, especially for protein, were grader than average and that attempts to determine slave nutrition based on "average" nutritional needs for the US minimizes the degree of malnutrition among the slaves in general and Appalachian slaves in particular.

Nor did slavery end peacefully in Appalachia. Many areas in the mountains were exempted from the Emancipation Proclamation because they were in union-held territory or states that did not secede. Even after the war and after slavery was abolished nationally, Appalachian masters held Black folk in slavery sometimes as much as two years, after they were due their freedom.She also discusses the violence, starvation, and degredation African Americans faced in Appalachia in the immediate aftermath of Emancipation.

Dunaway is a meticulous researcher, a clear analyst, and a quiet good writer.She never tries to dumb down or popularize her work.Yet, she never engages into the obtuse and confused language some academics think is necessary to make a work sound more "theoretical" or scientific.

This book belongs in the homes of anyone concerned with Black, Appalachian, or slave history

The strength of slave women
Dunaway does a remarkable job of detailing the lives of Appalachian slaves.Full of facts and statistics this book is invaluable to the history student and captivating to the history buff.The author sheds light on the day to day lives of slaves, including marriage practices, truancy, chores and general resistance. Subtle resistance and coping strategies of slaves are included within each chapter. The reader should appreciate the information related specifically to women (and not merely the sexual exploitation aspect)since available information often refers to men or slaves in general. Dunaway's well organized information flows smoothly throught the book making it a good reference source while holding the readers interest as if a novel. As a college student I found this book to be very useful in writing history papers.As a historian it has become one of my favorite books.
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