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The African American Experience: Black History and Culture Through Speeches, Letters, Editorials, Poems, Songs, and Stories [Paperback]

Kai Wright (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

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Book Description

January 1, 2009
This wide-ranging archive, capturing more than four centuries of African American history and culture in one essential volume, is at once poignant, painful, celebratory, and inspiring.

The African American Experience is a one-of-a-kind and absolutely riveting collection of more than 300 letters, speeches, articles, petitions, poems, songs, and works of fiction tracing the course of black history in America from the first slaves brought over in the 16th century to the events of the present day. All aspects of African American history and daily life are represented here, from the days of abolition and the Civil War to the Civil Rights movement and the current times. Organized chronologically, here are writings from the great political leaders including Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Jesse Jackson, and Barack Obama; literary giants including Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, James Baldwin, and bell hooks; scholars such as Cornel West and Henry Louis Gates, Jr.; artists including Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, Wynton Marsalis, Run-DMC, the Sugar Hill Gang, and Chuck Berry; athletes such as Muhammad Ali and Jackie Robinson; and many more.

A new introduction by Kai Wright provides overall context, and introductory material for each document delineates its significance and role in history. This edition features all new and updated material.

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kai Wright is a writer and editor whose work explores the politics of sex, race, and health. He contributes to a variety of independent and community-based publications ranging from Mother Jones to Essence magazine. He is the author of Drifting Toward Love: Black, Brown, Gay and Coming of Age on the Streets of New York (Beacon Press, January 2008) and Soldiers of Freedom (Black Dog & Leventhal, 2003). He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 720 pages
  • Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers; Reprint edition (January 1, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1579127738
  • ISBN-13: 978-1579127732
  • Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 1.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #287,889 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

 

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5.0 out of 5 stars So much suffering, so much strength, June 14, 2009
This review is from: The African American Experience: Black History and Culture Through Speeches, Letters, Editorials, Poems, Songs, and Stories (Paperback)
This is the sort of book that one is likely to reach for many times over many years. Across more than 700 pages it presents an emotional and powerful journey through the story of the Africans were brought to America as slaves. It begins with 16th century accounts of Africans being described as ideal for the labor needs of the New World. There are documents related to the slaves who were delivered to Jamestown, and fascinating laws detailing the treatment of slaves how their children are to be classified ("according to the condition of the mother"). The lyrics of the song "Strange Fruit" are no less moving when read as when heard. The book's last entry is President Barack Obama's 2008 speech about race.

The power of this book is in the first-hand accounts and documents it lays out in convenient fashion. It's a terrible cliché, but "The African American Experience" really is a difficult book to put down once you begin browsing through it. There is so much drama, emotion, and important history that one is likely to feel connected in a new way to the despair and struggle across all those centuries.

The original Africans brought to America and their descendants suffered far more severely than most people know. Yes, 19th century slavery in America is well known and many know something about the horrors of the Middle Passage but there is so much more. This book is the perfect foundation for gaining a broad perspective on an important story. The information is as varied as it is interesting. There are songs, poems, letters, stories, interview transcripts with former slaves, speeches, and more.

"The African American Experience" is a goldmine for anyone with an interest in general history or in the specific story of the Africans who were forced into cruel and inhumane conditions in a foreign land but as a people found the strength to endure.

--Guy P. Harrison, author of

Race and Reality: What Everyone Should Know About Our Biological Diversity

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Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
dream deferred, attacks upon women, foot patrol officers
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, African Americans, New York, South Carolina, Supreme Court, Aunt Chloe, Martin Luther King, The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Declaration of Independence, Jim Crow, New Orleans, American Negro, Mas'r George, President Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, North Carolina, Anita Hill, Los Angeles, White House, Jesse Jackson, Democratic Party, Denmark Vesey, Reverend Wright, Uncle Tom, Abraham Lincoln
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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