African American Heritage in the Upper Housatonic Valley: A Project of the Upper Housatonic Valley Heritage Area [Hardcover]

Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritag (Author), David Levinson with Rachel Fletcher (Editor), Frances Jones-Sneed (Editor), Elaine S. Gunn (Editor), and Bernard A. Drew (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 30, 2006

"African American Heritage in the Upper Housatonic Valley" is a rich history of African Americans in western Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut who played pivotal roles in key national and international events and made significant contributions to our culture. This largely unrecognized but proud heritage is told through the stories of the Black luminaries who have lived in the area--W.E.B. Du Bois, James Weldon Johnson, to name but a few--as well as through the life and times of the many ordinary yet extraordinary African Americans who have made their mark in the region from the 1700s to the present. The text is amplified by over 120 photos and illustrations, most published here for the first time. The volume also provides guides and maps to African American sites throughout the region.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 230 pages
• Publisher: Berkshire Publishing Group; 1st edition (September 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933782080
• ISBN-13: 978-1933782089
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,407,598 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An accessible insight into an oft-overlooked dimension of American history, March 3, 2007

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: African American Heritage in the Upper Housatonic Valley: A Project of the Upper Housatonic Valley Heritage Area (Hardcover)

Edited by cultural anthropologist David Levinson, African American Heritage in Upper Housatonic Valley is a fascinating, in-depth history of American New England life as seen through the eyes of its African-American residents, including not only historical figures such as author W.E.B. Du Bois and one of the founders of the NAACP, but also everyday businesspeople, teachers, religious leaders, artists, and social activists. Illustrated with sketches and numerous vintage black-and-white photographs, and covering a time line spanning from the early 1600's to the modern day, African American Heritage in Upper Housatonic Valley is an accessible insight into an oft-overlooked dimension of American history and is enthusiastically recommended for American History and Black Studies shelves as well as high school and public library reference collections.