This is a collection of essays by one of America's most interesting and original legal thinkers. The essay "On Reading and Using the Ninth Amendment" was prescient, and is still informative; the essay "Law as an Art" should be required reading at every law school. Black is in fine form here, and any reader will find much to learn and enjoy.

This is a superb book, bringing forward the startling testimony of 20 former slaves about the terms of their captivity. These narratives are both literary and true, and 200 million people should read them.

On the dinner table, Callaloo is a stew rich in spices that is made from the leaves of the African dasheen plant. On the bookshelf, Callaloo is a literary journal that has highlighted work from the African Diaspora for the past 25 years. Edited by Charles Henry Rowell, it has provided the literary community with the profound authorship of its contributers. Making Callaloo, a compilation, celebrates these 25 years by showcasing some of the best pieces of prose and poetry that have appeared in the journal during this time.

Included in the compilation are works by talented authors such as Ralph Ellison, Helen Elaine Lee, Percival Everett, Leon Forrest, and Terry McMillan. One of the works of short fiction that I thought was particulary compelling is Octavia Butler's "The Morning and the Evening and the Night." In this short story Butler tells the tale of a diseased group of people, known as "the DGD's". The existence of the DGD's is heartwrenching, and the story lingers long after the last word has been digested.

The poetic voices of Alice Walker, Cyrus Cassells, Rita Dove, and Sonia Sanchez are heard loud and clear in Making Callaloo. Cassells' piece "Sally Hemmings to Thomas Jefferson" paints a vivid picture of the taboo love the two struggled with. Cassels' verse is deep and rhythmic, digging a virtual trench, penetrating the readers' very being.

Just like the Caribbean stew callaloo satiates the body's hunger, Making Callaloo is a collection of work and authors that enriches the mind and spirit. This is art. This is literature. This is Callaloo.

Reviewed by Candace K

Janet Coleman and Al Young were University of Michigan English graduate students when they met Charles MINGUS in the late 1950's. In this slim volume, each writes separate but intertwined memoirs about their relationship as friend, editor, and fan with the great bassist/composer/bandleader. Their memories are fond, warm, personal, and humorous; their affection and something like awe are evident throughout the book.

This was the period of such Mingus works as "Pithecanthropus Erectus" and "Ah Um." Both Coleman and Young followed Mingus to New York City, where at clubs like the Bohemia, Mingus' "Jazz Workshops" (people pay to hear us practice), musicians such as Jacki Byard, Dannie Richmond, Jimmy Knepper, Jackie McLean followed Mingus' spontaneously combusting arrangements. We get a glimpse of Mingus the musician, the writer, and general connoisseur of life. As Coleman puts it, I knew Mingus during "his Shotgun, Bicycle, Camera, Witchcraft, Cuban Cigar, and Juice Bar periods, and was familiar with his Afro, Egyptian, English banker, Abercrombie and Fitch, Sanford and Son, and ski bunny costumes. I ate his chicken and dumplings, kidneys and brandy, popcorn and garlic . . . " There are several good clues to the puzzle of Mingus' autobiography "Beneath the Underdog," a work which Coleman, among others, helped edit. I recommend reading "Mingus/Mingus" before tackling his Joycean autobiography.

We also see the political Mingus, rightly protesting the treatment of black musicians, as well as racism and militarism generally. After all, this is the genius who wrote such pieces as "Oh, Lord, Don't Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb on Me (with the great line, "don't drop it, bebop it"), "Remember Rockefeller at Attica," and the great "Fables of Faubus," which courageously lambasted the segregationist governor. Cole's memoir is perhaps the more literary of the two (Coleman is a writer), and gives us a very personal view of Mingus' profound effect. Coleman may have been the closer friend and she offers some rarely heard and often humorous anecdotes. Both Coleman and Young knew Mingus for more than 20 years, and the book is rich with material recalling Mingus and the social and creative forces of the period: For example, Mingus played Genghis Kahn in a "psychedelic Western" written by Coleman's husband and filmed at Timothy Leary's ranch. Mingus criticizes Leary's approach: "You can't improvise on nothin', man. You gotta improvise on something." The book is filled with Mingus' humor and anger and appetites; his idealism and his realism. A titan of a man and at times, a study in contrasts, Mingus the subject is as compelling as the music he composed. (No index, but you get Mingus' recipe for eggnog!) Highly recommended, I just wish there were more to read! Highly recommended for fans of Mingus, jazz and the sociopolitical climate of the era.

The story is exciting,the suspects are hard to decide on,and the end result is great.It's an interesting,funny,suspenseful mystery - enjoy!

"The Negro In Virginia" is a book the American School System must include in their History classes! They have done a disservice to the American student! After reading the book, it brought me to shame and pride. Shame on Americans who caused slavery to be part of a nation who was supposedly a "Godly nation". Shame on all the other people, who involved themselves in the trade of slavery: Africans, Dutch, French, British, Spanish etc. Shame on those who preached of God's Love and who held slaves themselves; and on the politicians who wrote the Consitution and held slaves, and for those who used them for their own personal sexual satisfaction.

The biasness of the "white" man is conveyed so eloquently, without offense. Many people who have many fears, misconceptions and are misinformed of African Americans, may thank their ancestors.

I take pride in knowing that although, many innocent men, women and children died as a slave, those who prevailed, helped the cause for Ameican Freedom, not just freedom for the "negro", did so honestly. Many Slaves who fought in the Civil War and other "wars" did so valiantly! The contributions from African American is so well described.

The book allowed me to see through the eyes of the former slaves who survived. The pain of fathers who were separated from their family. The mothers whose children were taken away and sold. The children who never knew who their parents were. For those families who searched for each other after the Civil War. It described how blacks were not only used as commodoties but, used against each other at times.

The strength of the African American is so alive and descriptive in this book; and so is the fear of the Anglo-Saxon. For many Anglo-Saxons who contributed to the freedom of slaves described their, compassion, love, and boldness and perhaps their the true "Godly Fear".

Everything from the American Presidents' African Kings, and Foreign Rulers involvement in slavery to economics to education of African Americans is in this book.

It's a book you cannot put down, especially if you thought you knew American History, as I did. It brought tears at times and amazement, but most of all it has enlightened my knowleged and appreciation for the continual struggle of African Americans.

If you have compassion...It's a must read book!!

Professor Black has written a thin book that carries an invaluable moral message for America. This message especially may help any one who would limit ethical concerns to such traditionally biased concepts as "family values" or narrowly conceived meanings of "Christian" love. See for example, Dee Brown's (1970, 1991) account of American history in, "Burry My Heart At Wounded Knee." Revelations in that book shocked and angered a number of students who read it recently in a class titled, "Race, Gender, and Corrections." A typical comment was, "Why did I have to get into my senior year of college of learn this? I was always told that the Indians were the bad guys."

From a legal perspective, an excellent companion volume for Professor Black's book is A. L. Higginbotham, Jr's. (1996), "Shades of Freedom: Racial politics and presumptions of the American Legal Process." Both books focus on an ominous "legal&quo! ! t; process in American law that can best be described as dehumanization, or more accurately, "double dehumanization." See especially chap. 4 in A. J. Vetlesen's, 1994, "Perception, Empathy, and Judgment: An Inquiry into the Preconditions of Moral Performance," (e.g., p. 180)). Also see Susan Opotow's analysis of "moral exclusion" and the "scope of justice" and Michelle Fine & L. Mun Wong's discussion of "Perceived (In)Justice," in "Conflict, Cooperation, & Justice," (1995), edited by B. Bunker, J. Rubin, and Associates.

The only weakness I see in "A New Birth of Freedom" is that Professor Black too narrowly frames his analysis by focusing on the "Slaughterhouse Cases" of 1871. Many other cases are quite relevant as Higginbotham (1996) and a host of scholars show. For example, prior to our uncompleted unCivil War there was the case of Dred Scott v Sanford (1857). More recently, by 6-3 the ! ! U.S. Supreme Court (in City of Boerne v Flores, Bishop of S! an Antonio, and United States, 1997) struck down the legal and human rights concept of "unalienable" (religious) rights that Congress had reaffirmed in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. Orlando Patterson (1991, pp. 404-405) in "Freedom in the Making of Western Culture" accurately traces this dehumanizing flaw in America (& Nazi Germany) back to ancient Greece and idealized philosophers such as Plato.

The most fertile ground for understanding the "legal" process of dehumanization that concerns Professor Black probably is in the area of prisoners' rights and the domains known as "criminal" and "juvenile" justice. See the book edited by Elihu Rosenblatt (1996), "Criminal Injustice: Confronting the Prison Crisis"; Human Rights Watch's (1996), "All Too Familiar: Sexual Abuse of Women in U.S. State Prisons"; and Jerome Miller's (1991) classic on juvenile injustice, "Last One Over the Wall.&! ! quot; On a much needed positive and promising note of valid "moral justice," see: John R. Fuller's (1998), "Criminal Justice: A Peacemaking Perspective"; Daniel Goleman's (1995), "Emotional Intelligence"; and the book edited by L. May, M. Friedman, and A. Clark (1996), "Mind and Morals: Essays on Ethics and Cognitive Science." These last three works are excellent supplements to Professor Black's noteable contribution to understanding the roots of the persistent flaws (identity biases)in American law and morality.

Dr. LeRoy Walker has been referred to as an American Hero and after reading his story, I can fully agree. His story is about overcoming politics, poverty, and racism to eventually become the President of the U.S. Olympic Committee. His Olympic Journey was a remarkable triumph and one I'll always remember. Great book!

I have the first book Rodolphe L. Desdunes wrote
and I enjoyed it. Also I am doing research on my ancestry
so the book came out just in time.H e is my father's GGG
uncle.

PS:once again I have really enjoyed both of his books.

Thank You

This is not my first Chesnutt book. Over the years I read the Marrow of Tradition, House Behind the Cedars and several of Chesnutt's short stories. PAUL MARCHAND FMS is truly a lost treasure. The introduction is extremely well done and gives an excellent explanation to new readers of this genre. All readers will get a true sense of the racial lines that exsisted in early 19th century New Orleans and how some of these same feelings exist today. If you have not been a reader of Chesnutt, this is a good place to start. I'm sure that you will come to love his writings just as I have. As a native of Cleveland, Ohio, I'm proud to remind all readers that Chesnutt spent most of his live in Cleveland and is buried in Cleveland's historic Lakeview Cemetery.