Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., wrote of W.E.B. Du Bois, “History cannot ignore [him]
because history has to reflect truth, and Dr. Du Bois was a
tireless explorer and a gifted discoverer of social truths. His
singular greatness lay in his quest for truth about his own
people.” Du Bois was the first African-American to receive a
Ph.D. from Harvard (1896).
A brilliant
writer and speaker, he was the outstanding African-American
intellectual of his time. His lifelong active struggle for
racial equality and civil rights resulted in the founding of
both the Niagara Movement and the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). As editor of the NAACP’s
magazine, The Crisis, Du Bois presented the literary
genius of many of the Harlem Renaissance’s most compelling
voices; and his own works—the sociological study The
Philadelphia Negro and his famous 1903 treatise, The
Souls of Black Folk—eloquently delineated the
African-American struggle for identity in America.
During his
lifetime, Du Bois was a powerful force in academia, literature,
civil rights, and the peace movement. Using excerpts from his
many books as well as from articles, essays, poems, letters, and
speeches, The Wisdom of W.E.B. Du Bois provides a telling
portrait of the man and his groundbreaking ideas. It is a
tribute to a voice that would not be silenced and to a pioneer
who, in his passion for justice movingly declared, “the cost of
liberty is less than the price of repression.”
Seventh
Child: A Family Memoir of Malcolm X
Rodnell P. Collins
with A. Peter Bailey
This is the most important book on Malcolm X since
publication of the Autobiography. In
African mythological culture it is believed that the seventh child will
emerge as a leader of his people. Malcolm X was his father's seventh
child. Seventh Child: A Family Memoir of Malcolm X is a valuable
contribution to our knowledge of a great and controversial figure. No
other book about Malcolm X—and there have been more than forty, in eight
different languages—provides such enlightenment on the man, except, of
course, his own autobiography. Told by loving sister Ella Little Collins,
who knew Malcolm X better than anyone else, and her son, Rodnell P.
Collins, to whom Malcolm X was a much-loved and admired uncle and mentor,
Seventh Child adds immeasurably to our knowledge of the man.
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., was loved; he was hated. He
was admired; he was vilified. Few who heard this Congressman's fiery
oratory or read his impassioned writings will forget him. Now a whole new
generation will discover the fascinating life of this flamboyant,
controversial, and wildly popular figure.
With colorful details, Powell recounts his childhood in early 20th
century Harlem, his education at an all-white college, his years preaching
gospel and his rise in American politics. He takes readers inside the
halls of Congress, where he served as Chairman of the powerful House
Education and Labor Committee and was instrumental in the passage of Civil
Rights legislation. And with his superb skills as a raconteur, he tells
vivid stories of the influential people he'd met along the way, from
celebrities to presidents to kings.
With a foreword by his son Adam Clayton Powell III--one that offers
a richly perceptive explanation of what made his father the man he was--Adam
By Adam reveals the heart and soul of a true original who remains
among the most influential black politicians in our nation's history.
Many remember Paul Robeson for his magnificent singing voice and for
his stirring interpretations of Othello and The Emperor Jones. But how
many are aware that forty years before Alex Haley’s Roots, Robeson
wrote and spoke about African culture; thirty years before “black is
beautiful,” he described his pride in being African American; and twenty
years before détente, he wrote and argued against The Cold War?
Paul Robeson—all-around athlete, All-American football player,
Rutgers University scholarship student, Columbia Law School graduate,
internationally acclaimed actor and singer—made a choice. Leaving the
“heights of purely individual achievement to enter the day-to-day,
rank-and-file struggles of my people,” he placed himself squarely on the
side of those who fought against imperialism and racial discrimination.
In this volume, Professor Philip S. Foner has brought together a
stirring collection of Robeson’s speeches and writings, as well as
interviews, newspaper reports and photographs. It is a vivid portrait of a
towering African American, told in his own unforgettable words.
Born in slavery in Maryland in 1817,
Frederick Douglass escaped from servitude twenty years later, joined the
ranks of abolitionists such as William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips
and John Brown, and devoted a long and fruitful life to the winning of
freedom for his people. A fervent integrationist, Douglass believed that
true freedom could not come for him until all blacks were free and equal,
and he gave voice and direction to the movement to achieve this goal. Told
in Frederick Douglass's own words, this volume stands as one of the most
important chronicles of one man's courageous fight to end slavery.
Harriet Tubman was the greatest “conductor” on the
Underground Railroad, the organized network of way stations which helped
black slaves escape from the South to the free states and as far north as
Canada. For more than 10 years before the Civil War, she made 20 trips
from the North to the South, rescuing more than 300 salves.
Harriet Tubman, The Moses of Her People, is the fascinating
story of a remarkable woman who fled slavery, then courageously guided
runaway slaves to freedom—while a $40,000 bounty was put on her life. It
is also the story of her days serving as a nurse, soldier, spy, and scout
for the Union Army; her vigorous fight for women’s suffrage; and her later
years when she continued to work for the rights of blacks and women.
“I was born a slave on a plantation in Franklin County, Virginia. I
am not quite sure of the exact date of my birth, but at any rate I suspect
I must have been born somewhere and at some time. As nearly as I have been
able to learn, I was born near a cross-roads post-office called Hale’s
Ford, and the year was 1858 or 1859. I do not know the month or the day.
The earliest impressions I can now recall are of the plantation and the
slave quarters—the latter being the part of the plantation where the
slaves had their cabins.”
Thus begins Booker T. Washington’s fascinating autobiography, an
important milestone in American history.
"Michael D. Davis and Hunter R. Clark offer a masterfully
written tale of an American legend." — Gannett News Service
"Filled with the same fire, passion and humor that drove
Marshall’s life, Thurgood Marshall is a revealing portrait of a
pioneering lawyer." —National Black Review
"Well-written, informative and lively." —People
"This important work, ably chronicled by Davis and Clark, is
impressive. Highly recommended." —Library Journal
"As a guide to the legal struggles of this American leader
this book is written clearly and with obvious affection and
admiration for Marshall, and the law for which he fought." —Booklist
"Michael Dais and Hunter Clark have crafted a thoughtful,
carefully researched and focused biography." —USA Today
Born into the
kind of crushing poverty that can either snuff out the spirit or
ignite the soul, Dick Gregory chose the latter, using his
razor-sharp intellect and boundless energy to become a
headlining comic, a pillar of the civil rights movement, a
pioneering nutritionist, and an uncompromising voice for social
activism and human rights around the world. He’s counted among
his friends Dr. Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, and John
Lennon. He’s designed a pre-fight nutritional program for
Muhammad Ali, run for President against Richard Nixon and George
Wallace, and bargained—successfully—with Iran’s Ayatollah
Khomeini for the release of the American hostages from Tehran.
In Callus On
My Soul, Dick looks back through his extraordinary life,
recalling friends and adversaries, battles waged—both personal
and professional—while offering his unique perspective on race,
fame, politics, and so much more. At once provocative and
controversial, insightful and utterly fascinating, Callus On
My Soul presents a gritty, no-holds-barred account of a life
that continues to influence the world around us in powerful and
remarkable ways.
Janet Langhart
Cohen’s life has always seemed to defy the naysayers. She’s an
African-American Democrat married to the white, Republican
former Secretary of Defense; a poor girl from the projects who
grew up under the crushing legacy of segregation to become a
respected journalist and the wildly popular “First Lady” of the
Pentagon; a woman whose heart hears the whispers of her slave
ancestors; an American patriot who is not afraid to tell the
truth about our country, warts and all. Now, in this candid,
moving, and inspiring autobiography, Janet Langhart Cohen writes
with soul and rage, love and pride, hope and clear-eyed honesty
about the remarkable life she’s lived, the hard lessons she’s
learned, and the America that has come of age with her.
Here in her own
words are Janet’s personal stories of overcoming the odds in her
often-turbulent rise to one of the most visible positions in the
nation. From the thrill of meeting her mentors and heroes,
including Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks,
and Muhammad Ali, to the difficulties and triumphs of her
interracial marriage; her encounter with “The Terminator”; why
F. Lee Bailey came to her defense; her creation of the Military
Family Forum, which allowed her to improve conditions for
enlisted men and women; the lasting wounds of racism today; and
her hopes for the future even as America faces hatred from
outside its borders. For the big-dreams girl who wanted to prove
that she was “more than just a color,” From Rage to Reason is
more than just a personal history. It is a journey into the soul
of one woman that also stands as a powerful testimony to the
country she loves and serves.
