|
| ||||
 |
An author of more than twenty works of fiction and nonfiction, Baldwin's voice was first heard in the 1950s. This is a collection of deeply felt essays on topics ranging from race relations to the role of the writer in society.
Du Bois was a Harvard graduate who began his transformative scholarship and writing on African Americans, slavery, and racism in the late 1800's. This fascinating collection of comments spans the lifetime of one of our truly great Americans.
This collection of twenty three essays by the author of Ain't I a Woman and Black Looks, is a powerful critique of racism and sexism in the United States today. Included here is her positive plan for the future in her concluding chapter entitled "Beloved Community: A World Without Racism." Hooks is a Distinguished Professor of English at City College in New York and is considered to be one of the most prominent contemporary radical intellectuals. Cornell West wrote, "It is difficult to read a bell hooks essay or text without enacting some form of self-examination or self-inventory."
Contemporary American voices from all walks of life share their thoughts on race. This is an important contribution to the public discussion about race issues that we continue to have difficulty holding face to face.
West, a professor of religion and director of Afro-American Studies at
Princeton, is one of the leading intellectuals writing about race. This
readable book is divided into eight accessible chapters including "Beyond
Affirmative Action: Equality and Identity," "Black Sexuality,"
and "Malcolm X and Black Rage."
Angelou's career as an entertainer is highlighted in this book. She is a readable and best selling author whose other books include I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, a look back at her childhood in the segregated South and Wouldn't Take Nothing for my Journey Now, her most recent book.
Some say Marshall did more to improve the conditions of the underdog in American society than any other attorney in the twentieth century. He gave the persuasive arguments in the famous 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case that ended legal segregation in schools. Winning twenty-nine of the thirty-two cases he argued before the Supreme Court, he established a record that stands unparalleled in American judicial history. He joined that court in 1967 and served as an associate judge until his retirement in 1991. This major biography is divided into three parts, recollections from those who knew and worked with him, a detailed essay examining Marshall's philosophy and jurisprudence and the final section containing a selection of his opinions and dissents.
Honest, powerful, and articulate, this book resonates deeply among many African Americans. Spike Lee called it, "The most important book I ever read" and eventually used it for the script of his film, Malcolm X. (see video recommendations below.)
Janie Crawford tells us there are "two things everybody's got tuh do fuh theyselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about livin' fuh theyselves." This classic of African American literature, rich in African American language, was out of print for thirty years, "rediscovered" in the late 60's, and has been the center of discussion and book lists ever since. Her work as a novelist is significantly informed by her work as a folklorist and anthropologist, and her books are especially important for giving voice to the woman's experience.
Morrison's most recent book is set in Harlem in the 1920's when, it is often assumed, African Americans were enjoying new opportunities for freedom of expression and freedom from oppression after they migrated to the northern urban areas of our country. With characteristic Morrison genius we learn about the real reasons African Americans came to the cities and the obstacles they faced there. Morrison won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993 and anything by this author is exciting reading. She won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction in 1978 for Song of Solomon, which recently appeared on the New Times bestseller list after 20 years. Morrison won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1988 for Beloved. Also see The Bluest Eye, Sula, and Tar Baby.
Naylor won the American Book Award for First Fiction in 1983 for this book which tells the stories of the women who come to live in Brewster Place, an unforgiving urban ghetto. Seven stories fold together into this novel. Also by Naylor we recommend Mama Day or Bailey's Cafe.
This remarkable book won the American Book Award, the Pulitzer Prize, and established Walker as a major voice in modern fiction.
Set in the middle 1800's with the institution of slavery as its backdrop, this is the story of a relationship between two women, one white and one black, as their lives converge after the black woman's husband is killed for protecting her and their unborn child. This important novel speaks powerfully to the enormous individual strength and love that even the institution of slavery could not destroy.
It's a hot, hot summer day in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. Mookie is delivering pizzas for Sal's. Spike Lee's screenplay is delivering our urban streets.
The 54th Regiment of Massachusetts was the first Black regiment to fight in the Civil War. Strong depiction here of the prejudice in the North against the "Coloreds".
If you don't have time for the book, try an evening with Spike Lee's double video set.
Based on Alex Haley's Pulitzer Prize-winning book, this series held the nation spellbound when it first aired on television for eight consecutive nights in 1977. The series spans 100 years in United States history by telling the story of an African American family, beginning with the kidnapping in Africa and extending through slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction. Two years in the making, winner of nine Emmy Awards and 135 other honors, this series opened our eyes not only to the story it had to tell but how to use video to do that effectively. Available at many libraries. |
Books
Angelou, Maya. Singin' and Swingin' and
Gettin' Merry Like Christmas. 1976.Bantam. ISBN 0-553-25199-6.
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple.
1982. Washington Square Press. ISBN 0-671-66878-1.
Videos 
Malcolm X. 201 minutes. 1992. Warner Home
Video.
The Center | Instructional Resources | Los Angeles Connections
Professional Development | Vendors | What's New
