A Black History Lesson

Excellent information. Very informative. At times it was very intense. So glad to know this information. It is an extremely important part of black history!

a comprehensive, detailed presentation of a long arc of african-american history in the USA. Interesting and easy reading.

An engagingly written survey book of African American history. There are some sources cited in the early book that seem dubious, and some statements made that strike me as false in ways that should be especially relevant to a black history textbook. For example, Rosa Parks did not sit down in the white section of the bus on an "impulse," but rather as part of a calculated civil disobedience strategy. But overall the breadth of the book's focus and the liveliness of its prose counterbalance these flaws.

"To work from sun up to sun down for a whole year and to end owing "the man" $400 for the privilege of working; to do this year after year and to sink deeper and deeper into debt; to be chained to the land by bills at the plantation store; to wash away this knowledge with bad gin, to blot it out in an ecstasy of song and prayer; to sing, to pray, to cry; to bring forth a boy child and to be told one night that four thousand people are roasting him slowly over a hot fire and leisurely cutting off his fingers and toes; to be powerless and to curse one's self for cowardice; to be conditioned by dirt and fear and shame and signs; to become a part of these signs and to feel them in the deepest recess of the spirit; to be knocked down in the streets and whipped for not calling a
shiftless hillbilly "Mister"; to be a plaything of judges and courts and policemen; to be black in a white fire and to believe finally in one's own unworthiness; to be without books and words and pretty pictures; to be without newspapers and radios; to be without understanding, without the rationalizations of psychology and sociology, without Freud and E. Franklin Frazier and Jet; to not know why it is happening; to not know that it had all happened before to white people and that Hitler would do it again; to not know where to go and what to do to stay the whip and the rope and the chain; to give in finally; to bow, to scrape, to grin; and to hate one's self for one's servility and weakness and blackness—all this was a Kafkaian nightmare which continued for days and nights and years."

So goes the life of black people in the United States. One of the most important parts that needs to be learned if we are to ever get rid of the idiotic concept of 'race' and the oppurtunist, both black and white, who use it to keep the populace as a whole, ignorant and at each other's throat while the rich just get richer:

"The American white man and the American Negro are cases in point: three centuries of miscegenation have had a decided impact on both. In an article in the Ohio Journal of Science, Robert P. Stuckert, of the Ohio State University Department of Sociology, estimated that 21 per cent of American whites—one out of every five—have African elements in their background. "Over 28 million white persons," he wrote, "are descendants of persons of African origin. Furthermore, the majority of persons with African ancestry are classified as whites." Wholesale miscegenation has had an even greater impact on the American Negro. More than 27 per cent of a sample of 1551 American Negroes studied by Melville J. Herskovits had some "Indian blood." Even more
remarkable was the number of Negroes with white ancestors: 71.7 per cent. The percentage of mulattoes increases not only with additional Negro-white unions but also with additional "pure Negro"—mulatto unions. In Herskovit's sample, incidentally, only 22 per cent of the American Negroes were of unmixed ancestry. Bantu, Hottentot, Mandingo, Yoruba, Akan, Semite, Hamite, British, Irish, German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Creek, Choctaw, Seminole, Pequot, Marshpee—the American Negro is an extraordinary amalgam of different amalgamations. The end product of 343 years of miscegenation, he is also a constant reminder that nature is color blind."

This book was just very well written. I can't stress that enough. History can be dry and boring but when I good writer gets his hands into it, it can be made a pleasant experience to learn. As was the case here.

Amazing book.

This is truly important reading for everyone. It is not just that African American history is important because black people were around and doing things that are often ignored in the study of mainstream history; there was a constant influence on society and history, and without understanding that our comprehension of history is complete.

I had worried about bias, but the start of the chapter on Lincoln and Jefferson is gracious, and there is a poetry that comes out there. This is not a dry history book. Other especially beautiful segments of writing include the beginning of the chapter on Reconstruction and Bennett's writings about jazz. Not only do various jazz terms make more sense now, but it makes me want to learn more about jazz, because I can see how much more there is to it now.

Showing that there is more to learn is a key function of this book. In addition to the various chapters there are handy chronological and categorical sections which allow you to see the trends in a year or time period, or pick a field of achievement. This is a great book for giving ideas on topics to study and school reports to write.

Highly recommended.

I think it was real good

Spoiler: This book does not stop with the Mayflower. In fact, this is one of the best histories of this type, long on meaningful detail, without the careless ideological assertions that other authors rely on as a replacement for credible citations and quotes.

I only read the first chapter entitled "The African Past" because that was what I was interested in. Since the purpose of the book was to discuss the history of black America, it went into little detail about the African past, but it was good at least to break open this well-known African-American historical account.

If you don't know, you need to read this book

Read this in high school..required reading in 1975! Thank you, Mr Hogan...really ahead of his time

Very detailed, and very informative. Content, in some areas, may promote anger while reading.

PLEASE read this book.