Full Description
This text introduces students to both primary sources and analytical essays and is designed to encourage critical thinking about the history and culture of African Americans. The book presents a carefully selected group of readings organized to allow students to evaluate primary sources, test the interpretations of distinguished historians, and draw their own conclusions.
Contents
VOLUME I1. Interpreting African-American HistoryDOCUMENTS1. The Brownies' Book Encourages Black Children to Know Their History, 19202. Carter G. Woodson on His Goals for Black History, 19223. Mary McLeod Bethune Outlines the Objectives of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, 19374. John Hope Franklin Explains the Lonely Dilemma of the American Negro Scholar, 19635. Vincent Harding on the Differences Between Negro History and Black History, 19716. Lucille Clifton and the Nurturing of History, c. 1990ESSAYSJohn Hope Franklin, The History of African-American HistoryDavid W. Blight, The Burden of African-American History: Memory, Justice, and a Usable PastFath David Ruffins, Sites of Memory, Sites of Struggle: The Materials" of History2. Africans and the Slave Trade: Causes and ConsequencesDOCUMENTS1. A Portuguese Slave Trader Describes a Kidnapping, c. 1440s2. Slave Raiding on the West African Coast, 14483. A Congolese Envoy to Brazil, c. 16434. Willem Bosman, a Dutch Trader, Describes the Details of Bargaining for Slaves, 17015. William Snelgrave, an English Trader, Describes the Business of Slave Trading and Two Slave Mutinies, 17346. Olaudah Equiano, an Ibo, Describes His Capture, 17567. An Illustration Showing "Tight-Packing" for the Middle Passage, c. 1790sESSAYSWalter Rodney, African Societies Were Transformed by the Slave TradeJohn Thornton, African Societies Voluntarily Participated in the Slave Trade3. The Origins of North American Slavery and RacismDOCUMENTS1. John Rolfe Records the Arrival of African Slaves to Virginia, August 16192. Anthony Johnson, a Former Slave, Claims His Slave Property, 16553. Interracial Sexual Relations and Their Consequences: The Case of Elizabeth Key, 1655-16564. An Act to Discriminate Between Africans and Others in Maryland, 16645. Francis Payne, a Free Negro Property Owner in Colonial Virginia, Bequeaths His Property, 16736. Distinguishing Slaves from Indentured Servants in Virginia, 1705ESSAYSWinthrop D. Jordan, "The Mutual Causation" of Racism and SlaveryEdmund S. Morgan, The Paradox of Slavery and Freedom4. The Origins of African America and the Continuity of African CultureDOCUMENTS1. Olaudah Equiano, an Ibo, Discovers the Cultural Diversity of West Africa, 17892. Six Advertisements for Virginia Slave Runaways, 1736, 17673. Early Slave Conversion Attempts of Francis Le Jau, an Anglican Minister, 1706-17174. George Whitefield, a Religious Revivalist, Encourages Conversion and Education, 17405. Phyllis Wheatley's Homage to George Whitefield, 17706. The Conversion Experience of John Marrant, 18027. Landon Carter, a Slavemaster, Confronts the Problem of Slave Conversion, 17768. Two Letters from Savannah, Georgia on the Progress of Baptist Churches, 1792, 18009. A Grave Decorated in African Style, 1944ESSAYSSterling Stuckey, How Africans Preserved Their Culture: Culture as SpiritMechal Sobel, How White and Black Cultures Merged: Culture as Social Relations5. The Development of a Slave Society in Colonial North AmericaDOCUMENTS1. The Story of Tom, an African Creole, 17272. Description of a Slave Rebellion in Stono, South Carolina, 17393. Lord Dunmore, a British General, Entices Slaves of Colonial Rebels to Flee, 17754. Saul, a Slave Revolutionary Veteran, Petitions for Freedom, 17925. Free Blacks in South Carolina Petition for Equal Rights, 17916. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur, a Traveler, Encounters the Continuing Horror of Slavery in the New Republic, 1782ESSAYSIra Berlin, Historicizing the Slave ExperienceAllan Kulikoff, How Africans Became African Americans6. Subordination and Autonomy: The Dialectics of Master-Slave RelationsDOCUMENTS1. Thomas Cobb, an Antebellum Scholar, Describes Legal Basis for Slavery, 18582. Thomas Ruffin, a Judge, Struggles with the Illogic of Slaves as Property and as Persons, 18293. South Carolina Governor James Henry Hammond, a Slaveowner, Instructs His Overseer on the Ideal Disciplinary Regime, c. 1840s4. A Slave Man Resists, 18455. A Slave Woman Resists, 18616. The Last Will and Testament of Patty Cooke, a Virginia Slave, 18217. Samuel Elliot, an Ex-Slave, Claims Property Lost in the Civil War, 1873ESSAYSOrlando Patterson, The Riddle of Property Rights in Human BeingsEugene D. Genovese, The Legal Basis for MasteryPhilip D. Morgan, Slave Property as Property Owners7. The Roots of Resistance: Slave Cultures and CommunitiesDOCUMENTS1. Margaret Garner, a Slave Mother, Kills Her Child to Prevent Reenslavement, 18562. Description of Two Women Outlaws, c. 1850s3. Description of Love and Courtship in Slavery4. Letters Showing Relations Between Slave Husbands and Wives, 1840-18635. Martin Lee and Hawkins Wilson, Two Ex-Slaves, Seek to Reunite with Their Children After Emancipation, 1866, 18676. Spotswood Rice, an Ex-Slave Soldier, Seeks to Protect His Children, 18647. Three Folktales Show How to Cope with Powerlessness, 1860s8. Two Slave Spirituals Express Values and HopesESSAYSIra Berlin and Leslie S. Rowland, Slave Communities Are Grounded in Family and KinshipDeborah Gray White, Gender Roles and Gender Identity in Slave CommunitiesLawrence W. Levine, The Slaves' World-View Revealed in Their Stories8. Free Blacks Confront the "Slave Power": The Meaning of Freedom in a Slave SocietyDOCUMENTS1. Henry Highland Garnet Urges Slaves to Resist, August 18432. Frederick Douglass Opposes Free Black Emigration, September 18513. Rosetta Douglass Describes Her Father and Mother at Home, 1851-18534. Charlotte Forten Protests the Trial of a Fugitive Slave, 18545. Frederick Douglass Urges Resistance to Oppression, 18576. Oberlin Graduate Rev. Richard Winsor Describes the Rescue of a Fugitive Slave, 1858ESSAYSEmma Jones Lapansky, The Roots of Resistance in Free Black CommunitiesJames Oliver Horton and Lois E. Horton, Manhood and Womanhood in a Slave Society9. Civil War and EmancipationDOCUMENTS1. Captain C.B. Wilder, a Civil War Relief Worker, Describes Flight from Slavery, 18632. Corporal Octave johnson, a Union Soldier, Describes His Escape from Slavery During the War, 18643. John C.P. Wederstrandt and I.N. Steele, two Slaveholders, Lose Control of Their Slave Labor, 1862, 18654. Private Hubbard Pryor as a Slave and as a Union Soldier, c. 18645. Slave Fugitives Tell Their Stories to Charlotte Forten, 18636. Charlotte Forten Describes the Celebration of Emancipation in the Heart of the Confederacy, January 1, 18637. A Freedom Song from the Civil War EraESSAYSVincent Harding, Soldiers of God's WrathClarence L. Mohr, The Slaves Strike for Freedom10. The Work of ReconstructionDOCUMENTS1. African Americans in Richmond, Virginia, Petition President Andrew Johnson, 18652. Freedmen of Edisto Island, South Carolina, Demand Land, 18653. Captain Charles Soule, a Northern Army Officer, Lectures Ex-Slaves on the Responsibilities of Freedom, 18654. A Share-Wages Contract, 18655. Charles Raushenberg, a Freedmen's Bureau Agent, Reports from Georgia, 18676. Elizabeth Botume, a Northern Schoolteacher, Remembers a Husband and Wife Reunion, c. 18657. Dave Waldrop, a Florida Freeman, Seeks to Reunite His Family, 18678. Harriet Hernandes, a South Carolina Woman, Testifies Against the Ku Klux Klan, 18719. Elected Representatives, 1872ESSAYSHerbert C. Gutman, Schools for FreedomJulie Saville, Defining Free LaborElsa Barkley Brown, The Labor of PoliticsVOLUME II1. Interpreting African-American HistoryDOCUMENTSThe Brownie's Book Encourages Black Children to Know Their History, 1920Carter G. Woodson on His Goals for Black History, 1922Mary McLeod Bethune Outlines the Objectives of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, 1937John Hope Franklin Explains the Lonely Dilemma of the American Negro Scholar, 1963Vincent Harding on the Differences Between Negro History and Black History, 1971Lucille Clifton and the Nurturing of History, c. 1990ESSAYSJohn Hope Franklin, The History of African-American HistoryDavid W. Blight, The Burden of African-American History: Memory, Justice, and a Usable PastFath Davis Ruffins, Sites of Memory, Sites of Struggle: The "Materials" of History2. The Work of ReconstructionDOCUMENTSAfrican Americans in Richmond, Virginia, Petition President Andrew Johnson, 1865Freedmen of Edisto Island, South Carolina, Demand Land, 1865Captain Charles Soule, Northern Army Officer, Lectures Ex-Slaves on the Responsibilities of Freedom, 1865A Share-Wages Contract, 1865Charles Raushenberg, a Freedmen's Bureau Agent, Reports from Georgia, 1867Martin Lee, a Freedman, Struggles to Reunite His Family, 1866Elizabeth Botume, a Northern Schoolteacher, Remembers a Husband and Wife Reunion, c. 1865Harriet Hernandes, a South Carolina Woman, Testifies Against the Ku Klux Klan, 1871Elected Representatives, 1872ESSAYSHerbert C. Gutman, Schools for FreedomJulie Saville, Defining Free LaborElsa Barkley Brown, The Labor of Politics3. Renegotiating African-American Life in the New SouthDOCUMENTSBlack Southerners Look Toward Kansas, 1877David C. Barrow, Jr., a Georgia Planter's Son, Describes the Emergence of Sharecropping, 1880Nate Shaw Aims to Make a Living Farming, 1907-1908Black Southerners Appeal to President William McKinley for Federal Protection, 1898-1900Representative George White of North Carolina Delivers His Final Speech on the Floor of Congress, 1901Richmond Planet Reports a Streetcar Boycott, 1904-1905A Public Library Opens in Louisville, Kentucky, 1908ESSAYSElsa Barkley Brown, Renegotiating the CommunityTera W. Hunter, The Politics of Labor4. Rural Exodus and the Growth of New Urban CommunitiesDOCUMENTSBlack Population of Selected Cities, 1910-1930Migrants' Letters, 1917Helpful Hints for Migrants to Detroit, 1918George Edmund Haynes, a Black Social Scientist, Surveys Detroit, 1918A Migrant Family Adjusts to Life in Chicago, 1922Migration BluesESSAYSPeter Gottleib, The Great MigrationIrma Watkins-Owens, Caribbean Connections5. Defining a Race PoliticsDOCUMENTSIda B. Wells Urges Self-Defense, 1892Booker T. Washington Promotes Accommodationism, 1895Resolutions of the National Association of Colored Women, 1904The Niagara Men Pldege Themselves to Persistent Agitation, 1905Maggie Lena Walker Talks to Black Men About Racial Responsibility, 1906Promoting Black Towns, c. 1907Ten Thousand Charlestonians Petition for Black Teachers in Black Schools, 1919The Messenger Urges Black and White Workers to Organize, 1919Marcus Garvey Assesses the Situation for Black People, 1922ESSAYSDeborah Gray White, Race and FeminismWinston James, Race Consciousness and Radicalism6. The Culture WarsDOCUMENTSA Review of Scott Joplin's Opera "Treemonisha," 1911Blues Lyrics of the 1920sRev. George W. Harvey, Baptist Minister, Denounces Swinging Spirituals, 1939Alain Locke, Philosopher, Defines the "New Negro," 1925Langston Hughes, Poet and Writer, Critiques His Critics, 1940Screening the Race, 1925Zora Neale Hurston, Writer and Anthropologist, Takes Her University Training Home, 1927A Roundtable Discussion on African Survivals in Gullah Language, 1941ESSAYSTera W. Hunter, The Blues Aesthetic and Black Vernacular DanceEvelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Constructing Working-Class Culture7. Opportunities Lost and FoundDOCUMENTSBlack Population in Selected Cities, 1940-1960Charles Hamilton Houston and John P. Davis Critique the Lily-White Tennessee Valley Authority, 1934Protesting Lynching: A National Crime, 1934A "Black Cabinet" Assembles, 1938Louise "Mamma" Harris Describes Labor Organizing in Richmond, Virginia, Tobacco Factories, 1940A Marine's Letter to A. Philip Randolph About Discrimination in the Marine Corps, c. 1943Breaking the Color Bar in Sports, 1947ESSAYSRobin D.G. Kelley, Radical Organizing During the DepressionGretchen Lemke-Santangelo, New Lives in the West8. Origins of the Civil Rights MovementDOCUMENTSElla Baker and Marvel Cooke Describe Exploitation of Black Women Workers During the Depression, 1935Young Radicals Propose an Economic Program for the NAACP, 1935Charles Hamilton Houston Lays Out a Legal Strategy for the NAACP, 1935Goals of the National Negro Congress, 1935A Call to March on Washington, 1941James Farmer Recounts CORE's Early Direct Action Strategy, 1942Consumers Boycott Washington, D.C., Department Store, 1945ESSAYSRobin D.G. Kelley, Theatres of ResistanceRobert Korstad and Nelson Lichtenstein, Labor and Civil Rights9. The Civil Rights MovementDOCUMENTSJo Ann Robinson, Women's Political Council President, Hints of a Bus Boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, 1954Melba Pattillo Beals Recalls Her First Days at Little Rock Central High School, 1957Fannie Lou Hamer's Initiation into the Civil Rights Movement, 1962James Bevel, an SCLC Organizer, Mobilizes Birmingham's Young People, 1963Martin Luther King, Jr., Writes from His Jail Cell, 1963John Lewis, SNCC Chairman, Challenges the Federal Government, 1963Avon W. Rollins, an SNCC Field Secretary, Details Progrss Made in Danville, Virginia, 1964Malcolm X Defines Revolution, 1963Civil Rights Leader Bayard Rustin Is Forced Out, 1960ESSAYSClayborne Carson, "A Leader Who Stood Out in a Forest of Trees"Charles M. Payne, Cultural Traditions and the Politicization of CommunitiesCharles M. Payne, Challenging the Politics of Spokesmanship10. After "Freedom Now!"DOCUMENTSNina Simone's Song "Mississippi Goddam," 1964SNCC Denounces the Vietnam War, 1966An Interview with Black Panther Jimmy SlaterCombahee River Collective Statement, 1977A Statistical Portrait of Black America, 1940-1990sMiami's Concerned Black Organizations for Justice Issues a Manifesto of "Collective Needs," 1980ESSAYSGeorge Lipsitz, Civil Rights Activism and the War on PovertySuzanne E. Smith, The Political Culture of Detoit11. Progress and Poverty: African Americans at the Dawn of the Twenty-First CenturyDOCUMENTSLeanita McClain on Being Black, Successful, and Middle Class, 1980Jesse Jackson Addresses the Democratic National Convention, 1988The Children's Defense Fund Assesses the Life Chances of a Black Child in America, 2000The Relative Economic Condition of Black Youths, 1973 and 1993The United States Congress Investigates Rap Music, 1994The New Face of Racism: Racial Profiling, 1999The New Face of Racism: The Ordeal of Haitian Immigrants, 1998TheBorders of Black America: The New "Black" Immigrants, 1999ESSAYSLani Guinier, Rethinking Constitutional RightsTricia Rose, Twenty-First Century Cultural PoliticsTemma Kaplan, The Changing Face of the Continuing Struggle"
