Customer Reviews

Timetables of African-American History: A Chronology of the Most Important People and Events in African-American History

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This compilation is useful only to the extent some of its entries have been mindlessly culled from other more reliable and more encyclopedic sources. In all other cases the entries appear simply to have been included willy-nilly by the author, their importance simply "made-up." The good news is that at least the entries have been cross-tabulated by time, across eight issue areas (general history, education, law and legal action, religion, literature and the black press, the arts, science and technology, and sports), allowing the reader to use the index for the easy look-up of people by category for a given time period.

And while one can quibble about whether or not these eight issue areas are the most useful ones, the substance selected to fill them, in addition to betraying even a scintilla of knowledge about African American history, also leaves out its most important selection criterion: "being included in the establishment white press." It seems that everything selected here has been "conditioned by" and heavily "mediated by" what has been "pre-approved," validated or endorsed by the white media -- content and importance to black people, be damned.

But the bad news does not end there. The content has so obviously been mindlessly culled from other sources (without regard to the value of the contributions or meaning or importance of the substance being made) that many of the entries are simply silly and embarrassing. Even though the book is intended for an African American audience, this author obviously did not have a clue about the substance with which she was dealing.

Incredibly for instance the book gives more weight to Tawana Brawley than to Miles Davis or John Coltrane? Although Brawley is a "stand-alone" entry, both of these musical geniuses appear only as footnotes to the "Theolonius Monk entry" -- Monk himself apparently having been listed only because he was featured on the cover of Time Magazine? -- and not because of his music, or because he was mentioned in any black media.

Black firsts, such as "the first black Miss America" or the student sit-in demonstrations at Tennessee State University because of "poor conditions," or the inclusion of a few black first who eventually became criminals, are dubious entries to say the least and at most represent mindless gaps and goofs that makes this book pretty much a joke and a waste of money. It is a clear embarrassment to anything that might be considered serious black scholarship. Booo! and one star!

I reviewed this book two years ago. What I found moving about this book were the laws enacted to prevent African Americans from moving forward and in contrast, the achievements reflected in the book from science to art to technology to inventions in spite of the laws. The book showed the true spirit of African American people.

I was privileged enough to be a research assistant for Dr. Sharon Harley on this wonderful book project, and I was enriched by the information that we uncovered about the history of african americans, and world history in general. So many facts have been misreported over the years, and this book unravels many myths, while spotlighting many well deserved accomplishments of african american men and women. The knowledge is endless. Children and adults enjoy it equally as they leaf through the pages year by year unlocking "secrets" of our past. This book should be on every coffeetable and bookshelf in the world. I only wish that I could have had it as a child. --David Jason Orr, University of Maryland at College Park, African American Studies Program, BA, 1996