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Would
it surprise you to know that Black History Month, as we know it
today, began in 1926 as "Negro History Week" and owes its existence
to one largely ignored African-American scholar? Indeed, Dr. Carter
G. Woodson can be credited with not only the annual celebration,
but the entire study of Black history. After earning his Ph.D. from
Harvard, Dr. Woodson decided to take up the challenge of writing
Black Americans into U. S. history. He established the Association
for the Study of Negro Life and History, the Journal of Negro History,
and in 1926, Negro History Week.
Ever
wonder why Black History Month falls in February? Well, Dr. Woodson
specifically chose the month because it marked the birthdays of
the two men who most impacted the Black American population at the
time: Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Interestingly, Woodson's
choice of February foreshadowed the month's long-running significance:
W. E. B. DuBois was born on February 23, 1868; the 15th Amendment
was passed on February 3, 1870; the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded on February 12,
1909; the Greensboro, N. C. sit-in was staged on February 1, 1960;
and Malcolm X was shot on February 21, 1965.
Of
course, recognition of achievement is the real driving force behind
this annual celebration --- especially the contributions of those
African Americans who are still little known to many of us. For
example, our mini-lesson on the origin of Black History Month is
not just annoying didacticism on our part, but a silent tribute
to Dr. Woodson. The richness of African American history is born
from its diversity, and February is the time to reflect on the numerous
achievements made by the Black artists, politicians, scientists,
inventors, reactionaries, athletes, entertainers, and of course,
writers not mentioned in textbooks. As such, Bookreporter.com is
paying tribute to Afro-centric literature and contemporary Black
American authors with a roundup of new and notable books...
FICTION
 FAITH
AND THE GOOD THING by Charles Johnson (Scribner; ISBN: 0743212541)
DREAMER
(Scribner; ISBN: 0684854430) by Charles Johnson
A National Book Award winner for his first novel, MIDDLE PASSAGE,
Johnson's FAITH AND THE GOOD THING is an allegorical story about
a beautiful and innocent young black woman on a pilgrimage to find
herself "a good thing," while DREAMER is a fictional recounting
of the last two pressure-filled years of Martin Luther King Jr.'s
life.
CUP OF LOVE by Franklin White (Scribner; ISBN: 0684865653)
In an age when African American men are under fire for shirking
their responsibilities as providers, CUP OF LOVE pointedly asks
the question: What does a black man have to do to convince women,
and society, that he's a good man.
IF 6 WERE 9 by Jake Lamar (Crown Pub; ISBN: 0609605372)
Part murder mystery, part conspiracy thriller, part satire, Lamar's
IF 6 WERE 9 takes unexpected twists that the reader will love following,
all the while exploring the complexities of race and politics in
America.
DEBUT
NOVELS
GABRIEL'S STORY by David Anthony Durham (Doubleday: ISBN: 0385498144)
A highly
praised literary debut, GABRIEL'S STORY is a haunting tale of an
African American boy's coming of age on a homestead in 19th century
Kansas. Crossing the boundaries of color, Durham's work deals in
universal truths.
THE
YEAR THE COLORED SISTERS CAME TO TOWN by Jacqueline Guidry (Welcome
Rain Publishers; ISBN: 1566492009)
Reminiscent
of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, Jacqueline Guidry's debut offers a portrait
of the deleterious effects of racism in rural Louisiana in 1957.
On a broader scale, THE YEAR THE COLORED SISTERS CAME TO TOWN takes
a courageous stand against the segregation of communities, whether
across class, color, or cultural boundaries.
THE JUSTUS GIRLZ by Slim Lambright (HarperCollins; ISBN: 0060184760)
Quite
simply, THE JUSTUS GIRLZ is a poignant and hilarious story about
four strong, intelligent, blue-collar African American women ---
and their 40-year friendship.
NAPPILY EVER AFTER by Trisha R. Thomas (Crown Pub; ISBN: 0609605836)
Thomas's
debut tells the story of Venus, a woman whose search for introspection
and independence leads her to cut off her straightened hair and
her live-in boyfriend. A true-to-life tale told with wit and love,
NAPPILY EVER AFTER touches on issues of gender and self-image in
today's African American community.
POETRY
SPIRIT AND FLAME: An Anthology of Contemporary African American
Poetry edited by Keith Gilyard (Syracuse University Press; ISBN:
0815627319)
Bringing
together such notable poets as Rita Dove and Quincy Troupe, SPIRIT
AND FLAME is an artistic and politically charged sampling of some
of the strongest Black voices in America today.
MEMOIR/BIOGRPAHY
STRANGE FRUIT: The Biography of a Song by David Margolick (The
Ecco Press; ISBN: 0060959568)
David
Margolick's STRANGE FRUIT chronicles and comments upon the civil
rights movement of the '30s onward through a fascinating study of
one of the most important songs in popular music history: Billy
Holiday's "Strange Fruit" of 1939.
CHESTER HIMES: A Life by James Sallis (Walker; ISBN: 0802713629)
Best
known for THE HARLEM CYCLE, a series of crimes stories featuring
Grace Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson, Chester Himes was a seminal
African-American novelist and man of letters. In this literary biography,
author James Sallis integrates public facts and interviews with
family and friends to shed some much needed light on an all too
often overlooked writer.
SAMMY: An Autobiography by Sammy Davis Jr. and Jane and Burt
Boyar (Farrar, Straus and Giroux; ISBN: 0374293554)
Sammy
Davis Jr. was, among other things, the only Black member of the
Rat Pack, a Jewish convert, and a close personal friend of the Kennedys
and Richard Nixon. Undisputedly, the most famous African American
entertainer of the 1950's and 1960's, his flamboyance, hedonism,
self-destructive behavior, and cultural crises are compellingly
chronicled in SAMMY: An Autobiography.
ON HER OWN GROUND: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker
by A'Lelia Bundles (Scribner; ISBN: 0684825821)
A friend
to (and sometimes adversary of) well known names, including Booker
T. Washington, Mary McLeod Bethune, and W. E. B. DuBois, the wealthy
and lavish Madame Walker provided educational and employment opportunities
for African American women. Bundles is a great-great-granddaughter
of Madame Walker, and she melds her ancestress's incredible personal
story with the social history of race in the United States in this
definitive and fascinating biography.
NONFICTION
THE HAUNTING OF HIP HOP by Bertice Berry (Doubleday; ISBN: 0385498454)
Berry
melds together the traditions of African music in general, and drumming
in particular, with the history of African Americans and the realities
of today's hip-hop generation. THE HAUNTING OF HIP HOP is a mystery,
an allegory, and a foundation for all people interested in their
African American heritage.
WONDERS OF THE AFRICAN WORLD by Henry Louis Gates Jr. (Knopf;
ISBN: 0375402357)
Companion
to the PBS documentary series, WONDERS OF THE AFRICAN WORLD traces
Gates's 10-month journey through Africa, from the pyramids of the
Egyptian/Nubian empire in Sudan and the Christian heritage of Ethiopia
to the lost city of Timbuktu and the fabled University of Sankore.
Gates uses this trip to investigate the possibilities and perils
of modern Africa as well as the questions of its varied histories.
The stories are fascinating ones, and the photographs and illustrations
are breathtaking.
JUST WALKIN' IN THE RAIN by Jay Warner (Renaissance Books; ISBN:
1580631401)
JUST
WALKIN' IN THE RAIN chronicles how the lives of The Prisonaires
--- a poor, uneducated group of friends in a prison choir --- changes
irrevocably. Warner weaves together the threads of civil rights,
prison issues, and politics, infusing them with the uplifting tales
of personal success and redemption.
FREEDOM'S DAUGHTERS: The Unsung Heroines of the Civil Rights
Movement from 1830 to 1970 by Lynne Olson (Scribner; ISBN: 0684850125)
The
first comprehensive history focusing on the role of women in the
civil rights movement, FREEDOM'S DAUGHTERS tells the long-past-due
story of the extraordinary women --- both black and white --- who
were among the most tenacious of freedom fighters.
---
Kali Burns
(c)
Copyright 2001, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved.
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