African American Ourstory

  "Introduction to Black Studies"
by Maulana Karenga

  "Without Sanctuary"       
by James Allen

"Without Sanctuary brings to life one of the darkest and sickest periods in American history. . . . The photographs in this book make real the hideous crimes that were committed against humanity. . . .such atrocities happened in America not so long ago. These photographs bear witness to the hangings, burnings, castrations, and torture of an American holocaust." From the Foreward by Congressman and 1960's Civil Rights Leader, John Lewis. These lynchings are portrayed on picture postcards that were sent to friends and relatives of the lynch mobs. "At a number of country schools the day's routine was delayed until boy and girl pupils could get back from [viewing] the lynched man. . . .The degree to which whites came to accept lynching as justifiable homicide was best revealed in how they learned to differentiate between 'good' and 'bad' lynchings. . . .'The best people of the county, as good as there are anywhere, simply met there and hanged Curl without a sign of rowdyism. There was no drinking, no shooting, no yellings, and not even loud talking.' " The victims were Black and White, Male and Female, Young and Old. Some were burned after hanging, others were burned before hanging. California and Duluth, as well as Mississippi, Alabama and North Carolina lynchings are all represented. Even the Jew, Leo Frank, is photographed. Only 4000 copies of this first edition have been printed. "We must prevent anything like this from ever happening again."

  "Before the Mayflower"; Lerone Bennett, Jr.; Penguin Books

A vivid, passionate history of black Americans--from their roots in Africa to their lives in contemporary America. In this newly revised edition of an established classic, Bennett relates with clarity and vision the experiences of "the other Americans."

This is a compelling book that, once begun, is difficult to put down. Be warned - only emotionally secure, mentally balanced people with a global perspective and genuine desire to learn would be able to appreciate the depth, scope and meaning of this book. This will be a very difficult book for some on both sides of the color line. It makes one wonder at the biblical saying "the first shall be last and the last shall be first..." Hmmm..

"Uncle Toms Cabin"
by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Uncle Tom, Topsy, Sambo, Simon Legree, little Eva: their names are American bywords, and all of them are characters in Harriet Beecher Stowe's remarkable novel of the pre-Civil War South. Uncle Tom's Cabin was revolutionary in 1852 for its passionate indictment of slavery and for its presentation of Tom, "a man of humanity," as the first black hero in American fiction. Labeled racist and condescending by some contemporary critics, it remains a shocking, controversial, and powerful work -- exposing the attitudes of white nineteenth-century society toward "the peculiar institution" and documenting, in heartrending detail, the tragic breakup of black Kentucky families "sold down the river." An immediate international sensation, Uncle Tom's Cabin sold 300,000 copies in the first year, was translated into thirty-seven languages, and has never gone out of print: its political impact was immense, its emotional influence immeasurable.

The Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey,
Or, Africa for the Africans
by Marcus Garvey

In compiling this book, Mrs. Garvey has succeeded in revealing the true mindset of one of the greatest Black leaders of the 20th century. By presenting Marcus Garvey's actual letters, speeches and writings, we are granted the privilege of reading HIS OWN WORDS, instead of yet another author's interpretation. Additionally, I was very pleased that the book explained the actions of those who conspired to thwart Garvey's efforts (many of whom he actually mentions by name) and the conditions that effectuated his eventual deportation. I found this writing especially useful in understanding Garvey's true feelings regarding the N.A.A.C.P. and W.E.B. DuBois, as well as his views on racism, Pan-Africanism, and how peoples of all races can co-exist in peace. An absolute MUST READ for any student of the Great Marcus Garvey, and his lifelong effort to improve the conditions of Black people around the world

The Souls of Black Folk
by W.E.B. Du bois

W.E.B. Du Bois uses these essays to describe how Blacks' quiet acceptance of racism and slavery only stifles their chance for advancement in a society that basically considers them a problem. He is totally convinced that racism exist because America has not been educated about the gifted souls of Black folks! I believe Du Bois does an excellent job in describing how every African American in this country feels when he says, "he simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both [Black] and an American without . . . having the doors of Opportunity closed roughly in his face." This is truly a powerful collection of essays!

Black Wall Street
by Hannibal B. Johnson

Black Wall Street was very informative book and gave a lot of insight about how successful we were as a people and how unified the community was at that time. Mr. Hannibal Johnson did a wonderful job in portraying the devastation brought upon the African-American community on May 31, 1921. This particular book should be in every African-American home as a must read to show our youth that in the past were have been a prosperous people

"In the Matter of Color"; by Leon Higginbotham

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to embark on the serious study of racial idealogy here in America, especially as it pertains to the law. Higginbotham's work is widely quoted and referenced in other books that I've read. This book forms the bedrock and foundation for understanding "how" and "why" it was necessary to forge a wedge between poor whites and blacks, who together, often conspired to runaway from their master, and how black Americans gradually moved from a position of quasi-servitude to perpetual slavery. This book is phenonmenal. It truly is the bedrock of my collection of works on the subject.  (Michelle Scott, Amazon reviewer)

"They Came Before Columbus"; by Ivan Van Sertima

With the skill of a novelist, Ivan Van Sertima reveals to readers compelling, dramatic, and superbly detailed documentation of the presence and legacy of Black Africans in ancient America. It is the marriage of twin crafts--the artist's and the scholar's--in a book that makes it possible to see clearly the unmistakable face and handprint of Black Africans in Pre-Columbian America, and their overwhelming impact on the civilization they found here.  (Amazon Review)

Mis-Education of the Negro
by Carter G. Woodson

I am a twenty-four year old African American man and I read this book six years ago, and even at that young age I found it "On point". Dr. Woodson wrote this book over 60 years ago and his observations of social and educational conditions hold true to this day. This book was my introduction to my continuing studies of African American history, and I recommend that anyone beginning their studies begin with this book. There will be many instances when you will nod your head in agreement with what is stated, and other times when you will learn things about your own behaviors that you could not previously understand. The only reason that I couldn't give this book five stars is because it is a scholarly text and it is a little difficult for less sophisticated readers

Soul By Soul
by Walter Johnson

The slave pen lay at the depths of slavery's hell, and no one has explored that abyss better than Walter Johnson. Soul by Soul brilliantly bares the base meaning of chattel bondage and by extension antebellum Southern society byinspecting the mechanism that produced and reproduced slavery in the nineteenth-century United States and in the process defined slave, slave trader, and slaveholder.....
Walter Johnson's lucid and breathtaking book uses the spectacle of the slave market to open new windows onto the history and peculiarities of American capitalist culture. He persuasively shows that masters were not simply buying labor but fantasies fantasies of power, control, pleasure, even their own perceived benevolence. This is why the slave market was like no other market in the history of modern capitalism, and why Soul by Soul is like no other book.

100 Years of Lynching by Ralph Ginzburg

100 HUNDRED YEARS OF LYNCHINGS Recent racial violence against Blacks is on the rise. From distant parts of the United States, reports of racial violence fill the daily news. That Blacks are killed in the streets of New York while being beaten and harassed in the hills of Georgia, should come as no surprise. America has a long but seldom discussed history of violence against its Black citizens. The typical American response has been to ignore this history Unfortunate this further obscures a historical problem which can only be resolved through defensive vigilance and an awareness of the scope and nature of the problem.
Through Ralph Ginzburg's 100 YEARS OF LYNCHINGS, we gain insight and understanding of the magnitude of racial violence. The hidden past is illuminated to rekindle the defensive vigilance of this generation.  First published in 1962.

A Matter of Black and White
The Autobiography of ADA Lois Sipuel Fisher

A Matter of Black and White is the personal story of an Oklahoma woman whose fight to gain an education formed a crucial episode in the civil rights movement. Born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, of parents only one generation removed from slavery, Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher became the plaintiff in a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that laid the foundation for the eventual desegregation of schools (and much else) in America.

"Three Negro Classics : Up From Slavery, The Souls of Black Folk, The Autobiography of an Ex Colored Man"by Booker T Washington, W.E.B. Dubois, W Johnson, John Hope Franklin.

The Autobiography of Booker T. Washington is a startling portrait of one of the great Americans of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The illegitimate son of a white man and a Negro slave, Washington, a man who struggled for his education, would go on to struggle for the dignity of all his people in a hostile and alien society.

W.E.B. DuBois's classic is a major sociological document and one of the momentous books in the mosaic of American literature. No other work has had greater influence on black thinking, and nowhere is the African-American's unique heritage and his kinship with all men so passionately described.

Originally published anonymously, James Weldon Johnson's penetrating work is a remarkable human account of the life of black Americans in the early twentieth century and a profound interpretation of his feelings towards the w3hite man and towards members of his own race. No other book touches with such understanding and objectivity on the phenomenon once called "passing" in a white society.

These three narratives, gathered together in Three Negro Classics, chronicle the remarkable evolution of African-American consciousness on both a personal and social level. Profound, intelligent, and insightful, they are as relevant today as they have ever been.  (Amazon Review).

  "Ar'n't I a Woman?   Female Slaves in the Plantation South";

by Deborah Gray White; W.W. Norton & Company
Debra Gray White has really done a fine job on this piece, she really tells the whole story of what slavery (Being a Black woman) is about. What I really liked about the author was that she wasn't one sided in writing her piece. She didn't totally demonize the white race, She just told what happened. She talks about how Black women are totally ignored when remeniscing about the act of slavery. I really liked her talk of Jezebel, Sambo, and Mammy as steroetype for Black women. After reading her piece I know see that black women were almost in a worse boat than men in the early years of the country. She talks about the things black women face like sexual harrasment they couldn't do anything about (Women were properties). She talks about a black woman (Mammy) raises a white kid, for the white kid to grow up to become a drunkered and blow off her head with a shotgun. One slaveowner said he'd rather "whip a slave woman than eat on an empty stomach". This novel really shows the intensity of negation black women faced.

He Shall Go Out Free: The Lives of Denmark Vesey
by Douglas R. Egerton

This was an extraordinary book. Douglas Egerton does a marvelous job of telling the different lives of Denmark Vesey. The book is extremely well researched and tells the historical truth of Vesey's life. The author does a wonderful job of finding the true story of Denmark Vesey and incorporates intriging insights into his life. This is a wonderful book that illustrates what life was like for a dynamic slave who turned free. Egerton tells Vesey's story in a fascinating way and does a great job of recapturing Vesey's life. The author tells of how Vesey was a strong-willed, highly intelligent leader who had an ingenious plot to help slaves and free blacks to truly become free. The author shows how fascinating Vesey was even though his plan failed. This is a marvelous book and I highly recomend reading it! It is an absolute joy to read!

A Place Called Freedom
by Scott Russell Sanders

When young James Starman and his slave family are set free, they travel north to Indiana where they build a house, a farm, and a new life for themselves. In the years before the Civil War, Papa keeps making dangerous trips south to bring back relatives. So many people arrive that soon they form a village. Inspired by the true story of the founding of Lyles Station, Indiana, "A Place Called Freedom" celebrates the courage, compassion and wisdom that create strong communities. Full color.

The Negro in the Making of America
by Benjamin Quarles,

This bestselling, definitive study of African Americans throughout history covers the full story of the African-American experience, from the arrival of slave ships in the early 1600s to the 20th century, when the black struggle for social and economic equality came to the forefront of American life. Included are portraits of such notable black figures as Nat Turner, Frederick Douglass, and Malcolm X.

The Black Holocaust for Beginners
By S. E. Anderson

Breathing new life into a horrific period of history, this book takes readers back to the roots of African slavery in 1441 and brings them forward. Told from the point of view of one of the captive African women, the story shares her suffering, shame and helplessness, but also the bonding among captives and their efforts to maintain sacred traditions and rituals. Illustrations

  "African People and European Holidays; A Mental Genocide" Book 1 & 2; by Rev. Ishakamusa Barashango; IVth Dynasty Publishing Company