Autobiography of a People and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more

Kindle Edition
 
   
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Autobiography of a People: Three Centuries of African American History Told by Those Who Lived It
 
 
Start reading Autobiography of a People on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Autobiography of a People: Three Centuries of African American History Told by Those Who Lived It [Hardcover]

Herb Boyd (Editor), Gordon Parks (Foreword)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)


Available from these sellers.


Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition --  
Hardcover --  
Paperback $14.93  

Book Description

January 18, 2000
Benjamin Banneker on Thomas Jefferson's hypocrisy * Old Elizabeth on spreading the Word * Frederick Douglass on life in the North * Sojourner Truth on black women's rights * W.E.B. Du Bois on the Talented Tenth * Matthew Henson on reaching the North Pole * and many more.

"It has been said, 'He who does not know history is doomed to repeat it.' We as African Americans must put forth a concerted effort to know and to write our own history...We have the knowledge, the know-how, the resources, and we were there."
--Rev. Bernice A. King

Celebrating the spirituality, courage, and intellectual achievements of African Americans, Autobiography of a People is the first anthology to effectively trace the history of the African American experience--from the Middle Passage to Emancipation, from the Civil War to Vietnam, from the Little Rock Nine to the Million Man March--by telling the story in the words of the men and women who lived it.

Editor Herb Boyd has combined a powerful chorus of voices from the past and present to create a compelling portrait of how African Americans have survived--and shaped--some of the most important events in United States history. The misery of slavery, the bloodshed of war, and the struggle for civil rights are just some of the pivotal experiences described in vivid detail throughout the book. Many of the most revered historical and intellectual figures, writers, religious leaders, and activists appear within these pages, such as Phillis Wheatley, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, Elaine Brown, Margaret Walker, and General Colin Powell. Yet this remarkable collection also includes riveting scenes from the lives of ordinary men and women whose accomplishments may not have been recorded in the history books, but whose experiences are equally important to the African American story.

Offering a wealth of historical detail and emotion, Autobiography of a People is a stunning accomplishment that brings African American history to life, in all its tragedy and triumph, in a brilliant testament to the black experience in America.


The book boasts an astounding roster of important historical and intellectual figures, writers and religious leaders, such as Phyllis Wheatley, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., General Colin Powell, and Angela Davis, as well as a generous selection of riveting accounts from ordinary people. The misery of slavery, the bloodshed of several American wars, and the struggle for civil rights are just some of the pivotal experiences described in vivid detail throughout the book. Linked by editor Herb Boyd's informative narrative bridges, these powerful voices from the past and present combine to create a compelling portrait of how African Americans have survived-- and shaped--some of the most important events in U.S. history.

A monumental achievement, AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A PEOPLE brings African-American history to life in all its tragedy and triumph, in a brilliant testament to the black experience in America. -->


Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Herb Boyd is one of the most accomplished African American journalists on the scene--and also a gifted anthologist, as evidenced by his award-winning collection Brotherman: The Odyssey of Black Men in America. His new reader, Autobiography of a People, is a potpourri of Afro-American voices spanning three centuries--a soulful choir singing of joy, sorrow, freedom, and victory. "The story of African people is a glorious one," Boyd writes, "replete with a pantheon of mighty voices and courageous souls who in their combined strength have overcome inestimable odds and carved a special niche in the gallery of world culture." From the 18th century, we read the slave narratives of Olaudah Equiano, the pristine poetry of Phillis Wheatley, and scientific writings of astronomer Benjamin Banneker. The power of Frederick Douglass, Nat Turner, Harriet Tubman, and Sojourner Truth called forth the fires of freedom one century later. And, as the book heads into the 20th century, we revisit the wisdom of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois, the homeland strivings of Marcus Garvey, and modern life-and-death lessons bequeathed to us by Mumia Abu-Jamal. From Marian Anderson to Malcolm X, Boyd highlights the diversity and dynamism of African American people and the benefits of all who are touched by their stories. --Eugene Holley Jr.

From Library Journal

Boyd, journalist and coeditor of the award winning Brotherman: The Odyssey of Black Men in America, has produced an original and triumphant collection of first-person narratives from autobiographies, memoirs, journal writings, correspondence, and slave narratives. Remarkable in its inclusiveness, the book is arranged both chronologically and thematically. An essay preceding each section provides highlights of the coming entries, historical significance, and context. The 118 entries--ranging from notorious historical figures, political prisoners, pop icons, activists, athletes, artists, feminists, soldiers, and everyday folks--collectively document the evolution of black struggle and achievement in America. One can't help but be moved by these literary and historical sources. Frustratingly, while the number of selections makes for an impressive and eclectic chorus, it also insures that most entries remain short, leaving one wanting more. For public and academic libraries.
-Sherri Barnes, Univ. of California, Santa Barbara
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 576 pages
  • Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (January 18, 2000)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0385492782
  • ISBN-13: 978-0385492782
  • Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #174,511 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Herb Boyd is a journalist, activist, teacher, and has authored or edited 22 books, including his most recent one, Civil Rights: Yesterday & Today. His book Baldwin's Harlem, a biography of James Baldwin, was a finalist for a 2009 NAACP Image Award. In 1995, with Robert Allen, he was a recipient of an American Book Award for Brotherman--The Odyssey of Black Men in America, an anthology. We Shall Overcome, a media-fusion book with narration by the late Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, is used in classrooms all over the world, as is his Autobiography of a People and The Harlem Reader. His articles can be found in such publications as The Black Scholar, The Final Call, the Amsterdam News, Cineaste, Downbeat, and The Network Journal, among others.
Among the highlights of his remarkable journalistic career was an invitation to fly on Air Force One with President Obama, whom he has interviewed on several occasions.
Over the last decade or so, Boyd has scripted several documentaries, including several with Keith Beauchamp on cold cases of martyrs from the civil rights era that were shown on Biography Channel and TV One. With filmmaker Eddie Harris, he was the writer on three documentaries--Trek to the Holy Land, Cri de Coeur (Cry from the Heart), and Slap the Donkey, that tracks the Rev. Al Sharpton's presidential bid in 2004. The latter film was recently selected to be screened at the Montreal Film Festival in 2010. Boyd is also a frequent guest on national television and radio shows, as well as a keynote speaker at many functions sponsored by noted community and college organizations, where his commentaries on African American culture and politics have earned him an increasingly large audience and popularity. For more than forty years, he has taught at institutions of higher learning. Currently, he teaches at the College of New Rochelle in the Bronx and at City College New York, and is also a national and international correspondent for Free Speech TV.org, a media company that specializes in Internet television.

 

Customer Reviews

10 Reviews
5 star:
 (9)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Autobiography of aPeople:Three Centuries OfAfrican AmericanH, February 12, 2000
By 
Cleophus Roseboro (Detroit,Michigan USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Autobiography of a People: Three Centuries of African American History Told by Those Who Lived It (Hardcover)
This book is an anthology edited by Herb Boyd.It contains compelling material that is written by various authors who tell of the African American experience as they witnessed it.The book should be read by all those who would like to know what has occurred in the collective experience of the only Americans who were brought to this country against their will and treated as chattel. It may surprise many to learn that the African American community is not monolithic.The various voices selected by Mr.Boyd attest to this notion in the telling of the story.Again,this book is one that should be read by everyone who needs or wants to know of the tragedies and triumphs of a proud and glorious people and their multiple experiences in America.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Primer in Black Thought in America, April 3, 2000
This review is from: Autobiography of a People: Three Centuries of African American History Told by Those Who Lived It (Hardcover)
Do you ever wonder how black people living as slaves described life in America? Herb Boyd, author and journalist, has been a professor of black studies for thirty years. Thus, he is uniquely qualified to distill from the reams of black thought that which might best stand as a fitting testament to African Americana. Editor Boyd has deftly woven the dark backstory to the glamorized myth on which the American Dream rests. The author establishes that blacks in America have never been that content underclass by and large depicted in this country's history books. He disputes the notion, central to American history, that Africans brought to America were docile, uncivilized, unintelligent and, thus, deserving of their lot. Culling from the words of those who did dare to speak out (often with disastrous consequences), Boyd has woven an eloquent, emotional tapestry of the black experience. Its power derives not from any self-conscious rage, but from the simplicity, the unguarded frankness of the voices. This is a timely book, sorely needed at a critical moment in this nation's history.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A COLLECTION OF REALITIES, February 18, 2000
This review is from: Autobiography of a People: Three Centuries of African American History Told by Those Who Lived It (Hardcover)
Twice I attempted to write this review of Herb Boyd's AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A PEOPLE, with it's" three centuries of African American history told by those who lived it"

but soon realized I should finish reading it first. His collections (of excerpt) is so powerful so revealing; and each one seem to flow into the next. like a chronological change of events.

I can see how it may be differcult for some to believe (and easier to deny) the suffering and sacrificing our ancestors endured, to make possible the freedom and well being we now enjoy. Surely it'll instill pride in we Americans of African descent and Americans of goodwill..

Myself, more so being the fact that I too, made a contribution. An excerpt was selected from my Korean war memoir, WHAT'S A COMMIE EVER DONE TO PEOPLE? (Publishes by McFarland Publishers Inc.). Sure, at the time, I was politically ignorant to the reasons I was there fighting, like many others black soldiers, then we were fighting for our lives, the fight for our freedom, we who survived, was to come on our return t o America.

Hopefully, my story, alone with the many others that appears in AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A PEOPLE will help enlighten other 17 & 18 year old American-American to the reality, that the freedom we now enjoy, others fought and died for it.

PS; In "AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A PEOPLE" includes my favorite hero, the adventurous, explorer, scientist and author, Mr. Matthew Henson, who's life story inspired me to be an adventurer.. DARK COMPANION. It was the first book I read. I was nine years old.

Again, My Sincere Thanks to you Brother; Herb Boyd your book is a magnificent collection of excerpts. And no doubt it'll serve as an inspiration to many.

Peace & Pleasant Writing Curtis J. Morrow

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews








Only search this product's reviews



What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Create a Listmania! list

So You'd Like to...


Create a guide


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject