A must read. The chapter on Lincoln puts a lot of things into perspective and casts a new light on "The Great Emancipator"

I am thrilled! Lerone Bennett Jr is now my favourite author on African/American history. If he does not number among the great, I put him in a more beloved category: those who wrote African/American history as Lerone Bennett Jr might have written it. A cursory glance at the reviews revealed to me that the author has a following. Their are plenty of people who are still interested in African/American history.

As the title shows, this book details the events that occurred in America between 1619 and 1964. The trend was against slavery, segregation, and objectification of African/Americans. African/Americans were rising up and no longer wanted to be subordinates to their white counterparts. They scorned all forms of discrimination on account of colour and race. They were intent on creating an America that was colourless and raceless, yet they had to contend with racism. Racism was everywhere, All over America. Most of all in their homes.

At the time, African Americans did not care about money and social positions. They cared about ending discrimination, stopping wars, economic empowerment and education of children. If you ask me, I think they were right. When America was going to pieces, who had time to talk about good form and good taste? What are such things but pretty little blinds to shut out starvation and mass murder? We can refer to them as the moral generation. They are among the first that ever showed a genuine social conscience.

a classic

American Negro History: what you didn’t learn in public school

Well documented & filled with examples of how the American Negro population contributed in science, technology, medicine and culture in spite of overwhelming obstacles due to hate & racism. This should be a must read for anyone running for public office both local & national.

This comment is only to add corrections to the editions shown on GoodReads. My copy is the (Revised Edition) A Pelican book published by Penguin Books (14 020856 9) from 1970, with the Cover Design by Janet Halverson. (435 pages - including reference pages). I selected this one since it came closes in year in publishing date and format.

Very interesting. High level introductory overview of the subject.

Before the Mayflower: A History of Black America (Hardcover)
by Lerone Bennett Jr.

ordered from the library this date

I read this book as it was recommended to me as 'the African American history you didn't learn in high school.' I found it easy to read and learned a lot that was new to me, particularly regarding the 'intermingling' of whites and african americans to the point where most African Americans have some white blood in them. Interesting how in the immediate aftermath of the civil war there was no white/colored separations (i.e. in restaurants, in buses and so forth) those only came later.

A great book on black history, though some elitist historians consider it dated, as it briefly references white slaves.

There are some books you have known about for most of your life. However, you will finally read that book when it has determined you are ready for it. This is the case for Before The Mayflower by Lerone Bennett Jr.

I have known about this book for over thirty years but had never decided to read it until now. Bennett covers the black experience in America from when the first slaves arrived in 1619 to Virginia until the Clinton presidency. My version is the 6th edition and I could tell that Bennett added more information in each edition since the book was first published in 1962.

Bennett laid out the American black experience in full detail and it took me awhile to get through this book. I had to read it in 20-30 page chunks just to get absorb all the information provided. This book revealed to me that the black experience in America is multi-dimensional and complex. I had preconceived notions about what I was going to read in the book. I was completely wrong and learned how much black people contributed to our country despite our predicament under the shackles of racism.

Before The Mayflower should be taught in all high schools and colleges throughout America. It is a great and basic primer to understanding a history that does not get shared in popular culture.

Black history

Before The MayFlower is a book that should be taught from in all of America’s schools. As a minimum, it should be in every home library. There is important history included in this book that shares true history instead of the white washed history taught in America’s schools due to the efforts of the United Daughter of the Confederacy.

This books shares a reality of the important role African americans and Africans played in the foundig, creation and building of the United States of America. If someone asked me how can we help psh America towards that, “more perfect union,” I would tell them to read this book and then gift it to all of their friends and relatives during gift giving seaons like Christmas, Kwanzaa and Birthdays.

I read it inperson and online with a group of people from mixed backgrounds. We had many conversations and used it as a reference source to look up more facts. We read, discussed, learned and grew together. We became better Americans.
This is a must read and a must own book!