Certainly photography is a matter of composiotion and light and having your head in the right place at the right moment. But in the end what is photography really about? What are these photos really about? Pain, poverty, community, despair, abuse, childhood, church, worship, hysteria, joy, silence, praise, noise, solemnity, life and death. Faith. Faith as a matter of life and death. Yes, I suppose that's it.

I first heard of Greg Tate back when he was writing for VIBE Magazine. I was impressed with his surreal and at the same time politically urban views. Greg Tate is a voice for the so-called "BOHO" or Black Bohemian Arts Movement, an underground urban culture which includes Black intellectuals who push the envolope of what traditional Black customes should be. Greg Tate interviews the musical genius George Clinton of Parliment/Funkadelic, science fiction, jazz innovators, unknown but gifted Black filmmakers, an essay about the legendary Rastafarian/Hardcore band Bad Brains, Amiri Baraka, and much more.

Greg Tate's writing style is like a cross between Amiri Baraka and Tim Leary. He has been a major influence on my writing. His ideas are so far out there that the mainstream Black intellectual community (who most still have the negroe mentality) won't accept them. Me personally, I have the same dilemma, because the mainsteam says a Black man should only write about Hip-Hop, 'hood stories, the "Negroe" Rights Movement, and slavery instead of science fiction, classical music, and a variety of other subjects. To the average Black mind; Black culture is confined to UPN/WB zitcoms, SoulTrain, goin' to church on Sunday, sittin' in the beauty shop, basketball, and eatin' grits. But Greg Tate says we are a colorful people who have a lot of potential and have no limitations. Only through art can we fully grow. Greg Tate is a gifted writer who deserves credit.

As a parent doing research about a slave ship called the Henrietta Marie, I discovered the book The Kidnapped Prince: The Life of Olaudah Equiano. I was very moved by this book as well as my eight-year-old daughter. Olaudah Equiano expressed his view of slavery and the very essence of life as a slave very eloquently in his book. His constant eternal struggles to stay true to his self and survive as a slave make me applaud him with all my heart. The message Olaudah Equiano reinforces in his book, which will never grow old. "Education is the key to a successful life". Which is a meaningful message for today's African American children. Nevertheless, to achieve freedom before the age of 25 truly define him as a Prince and a leader. Ann Cameron did a supreme job with the translation of old English to Modern English. I highly recommend this book for all ages.

The title of Sanctuary refers to a place of worship and also a state of mind: Thomas Roma places these in visual perspective, locating sacred parts of the community within the Brooklyn area and charting the efforts of generations to leave their mark. His excellent black and white photos pack in contrasting images of different religious faiths and sanctuaries.

Students of slavery or the narrative form will find this book invaluable. This is a unique collection of essays concerning various aspects of slave narratives. Essays consider difficult questions, such as textual authenticity, in terms of whether texts were written by ex-slaves or abolitionists; fictional and nonfictional elements in slave narratives; and dialect usage.

Nearly all of the essays effortlessly tie in analysis of the narrative form with the subject of slavery. The essays focusing on narratives as literature are especially good. These essays include essays on slave narratives as autobiographies; the slave narrative of Juan Francisco Manzano, whose linear organization is punctuated by moments of torture expressed by textual discontinuities; the feminist slave narrative of Harriet Jacobs; and picaresque slave narratives.

This is a difficult book to read because the evil that slavery entails. The oppression of anyone is an evil that must be overcome. Frederick Douglass displayed a remarkable courage in learning to read and write to finally overcome the horror of slavery. I appreciate his observation on the religious hypocrisy of the South. It was telling that religious slave owners were always the worst. Of course since religion helped breed slavery in America this really should not come as any surprise. I have great admiration for the founders of this country but I also feel that the evil and hypocrisy of slavery should be exposed. It is an ugly passage in American history that must be addressed. This book should be read by high school kids in every high school in America--make that every American period. Frederick Douglass deserves to be recognized as a great American and this book is essential reading for any American.

Slavery was known as a "peculiar institution". By broadcasting such labels for slavery, the southern slave owners were able to downplay the severity of the subjugation of slaves in this "peculiar institution". However, in 1845 a runaway slave by the name of Frederick Douglass was published his narrative which showed the extent of the cruelty within of the oppressive the institution of American slavery. Douglass gives a powerful portrayal of his personal struggle against the tyranny of himself and his fellow slaves. By depicting his personal story regarding the horrors of slavery, Douglass testified to the injustices of the slave institution and conveyed an urgent message of the time for prompt abolition.
Douglass leaves out no detail as he portrays the brutal means in which slaves were forced into subjugation. In order to maintain order and to achieve maximum efficiency and productivity from his slave, an owner used the fear of the ever-present whip against his slaves. Over, and over again throughout the Narrative, Douglass gives account of severe beatings, cruel tortures, and unjust murders of slaves. The message is evident. Slavery dehumanized African Americans.
From the introduction of his early experience, Douglass portrays the burdens of slavery. The reader is forced to cope with the fact that he has no tangible background. Slavery has robbed him of the precious moments of his childhood. He was raised in the same manner as one would raise an animal. In his early years he had no knowledge of time-he did not even know when he was born. He is also forced to scrounge for food in the same fashion as a pig digs for slop. The saddest insight is the alienation of Douglass from his family. He has no connection with his parents and when his mother dies he was untouched. On hearing of her death he states, "I received the tidings of her death with much the same emotions I should have probably felt at the death of a stranger" (19). The bond between mother and child is the strongest bulwark for children and to be robbed of this and to not care demonstrates just how severe slavery was to Douglass and countless others who faced the same fate. In the entire slave experience, the only escape from the repression was through sorrowful singing. As Douglass states, "every tone was a testimony against slavery..." and "slaves sing the most when they are unhappy" (29). Only through music could slaves find comfort in dealing with their anguish.
Douglass's first witness of brutality is the telling of his Aunt Hester's beating. The narration is powerfully effective through terrible detail. The cursing of the overseer, the shrieks of his aunt, and the horrible effects the whip upon her flesh is almost as agonizing the reader of the Narrative as it was to his unfortunate aunt. The fact that this terrible instance is a common occurrence makes it a heavier burden upon the reader's soul.
As if the beatings were not enough, slaves were also murdered on a whim. Douglass tells of Gore, a meticulously cold taskmaster who blew out the brains of a poor slave by the name of Demby. The chilliness of Gore's is terrible due the fact that he kills with the sympathy of a butcher.
Upon hearing about this, one would speculate that the authorities would deal with such barbaric acts justly. However, as Douglass recounts in the story Mrs. Hicks, the murderess that killed a slave girl for not moving fast enough, the law officials were hesitant to enforce the rights of the slave and would intentionally overlook such matters. This is primarily due to the fact that a slave owning society could not allow the rights of the slave to be upheld to the same level as a white man. To do such a thing would threaten the stability of their superiority. This is further illustrated in Douglass's struggle against the shipyard workers, when he fled to his master and told him of the attack his master stated that he could not hold up Douglass or even a thousand blacks testimony. The lack of protection under the law and the unwillingness of the whites to give the slaves a voice allowed the whites to completely dominate the slaves without the fear of accountability for their actions.
The worst aspect of slavery is found in the religious nature of the subjugation of slaves. The cruelty found in slavery was even more intense when placed under the pretense of the slaveholding religion of Christianity. Through Douglass's deconstruction of Christianity, he learns that the white oppressive version of Christianity is much different from his own beliefs of Christianity. The incident that shaped Douglass's understanding of the mentality of religious slaveholders was when he was placed under the authority of Mr. Freeland. In this situation, he was able to see the difference between the so-called "religious slave-holders" and "non-religious slave-holders." Douglass felt that the "non-religious slave-holders" were less brutal because they did not reprimand their slaves based on a Divine command. Instead they were more concerned about reprimanding the slaves when the slaves did wrong as opposed to whenever they felt that the Lord professed a beating.
The Narrative and Selected Writings is a powerful testimony to the struggles American slaves faced. Through the writings of men such as Frederick Douglass, abolitionists were given fuel to the bonfire of the Abolition Movement. Douglass honest testimony helped to bring out the truth about slavery. Abolitionists now had evidence to back their claim that the "peculiar institution" was in fact an institution of evil.

As the title implies, this short work is the narrative of Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave. He wrote it by himself, a significant fact in that his prose is so eloquent and his pathos so powerful that it seems impossible for a former slave to have composed it. In this short autobiography, Douglass recounts his life as a slave, and details some of the horrors and atrocities perpetuated on slaves by their fiendish overseers, most of whom Douglass portrays as downright evil. More than just a narrative of his life, Douglass also gives an account of how the desire to be free grew and began to burn within his bosom, and how he grew to hate that horrible institution. Above all, this is a story of a slave learning that he is, in fact, a human being.

The significance of this book cannot be overestimated. In it, Douglass effectively dispels a number of popular myths about slaves and slaveholders, and forever changes the way the reader (especially one who lived while slavery still existed) looks at slavery. The theme of this book is very simple: slavery is wrong. It is evil, it is cruel, and, despite what many people thought at the time, the slaves know how cruel it is. Douglass cites several examples of the horrible treatment slaves received, one of them being separation of families. "It is a common custom...to part children from their mothers at a very early age" So it was with Douglass and his own mother.

Douglass writes in a very eloquent style, and this contributes to the power of this work. Many people who thought blacks were inferior in intelligence were shown to be sadly mistaken with the coming of Frederick Douglass, a man both educated and refined. It may be said that the book is not entirely fair, for it is decidedly anti-slavery, but it is undoubtedly true for most cases nonetheless. Most of the overseers in Douglass's narrative are demonic and sadistic, but when a good overseer comes along (such as Freeland), he is fair in his treatment of him.

One can imagine the fuel this book gave to the abolitionist fire, and it is not difficult to see why Douglass had such an impact on both North and South. This is, in my opinion, a definitive work, in that it shows the horrible institution of slavery in all its barbaric nature, and does it from a firsthand point of view, that of a former slave. This book was a tremendous contribution, both for the light it shed on slavery in general, and for proving that blacks were not intellectually inferior by nature, but instead were "transformed into...brute[s]" at the hands of their overseers.

This is a great book, essential for anyone wanting to study the Civil War era or wanting to gain a firmer understanding of slavery.

I liked the book,but it did have many faults to and left much information out abotu the truth and reality of Africa people. I would recommend this book to any one starting out on the path ot learning about African people and African cultures,as well as the dispora. I am not the biggest fan of Henery Louis Gates considering his documentary made also left out much information and was very disrespectful to African people. I know many people feel Gates as a negro saxon. Gates may have his faults,but it seems there are hints of Afrocenttrism in his book. I am glad Gates talks about the black peole of Russia that not very many people know about the mysterious black people of the caucaous mountains. I don't like however how Gates twists the theroies about Ancient Egypt by making Cheikh Anta Diop look less creditable. The other thing about the blacks of the caucaous mountains, the russian goverment has relocated from.
They are the possible link to the ancient egyptains also people known as the colchians.

Upon opening this book, I realized I had stumbled on to the missing link in American History. Africana provides a glimpse of what traditional history books have been all to willing to ignore. As a person of Native American and European heritage, I have seen time and time again, the way American History Books have focused primarily on the accomplishments of Europeans, leaving out the rich history of all of her people of color. With it's amazing photographs and easily followed geographical references, Africana fills this gap, as it provides a much wider view of the true history of America. I hope someday that traditional American History Books will include this information in their pages and there will be no need for separated histories... but until that time, Africana is a book that every parent should buy for their child and every American should have in their home. The history that this book brings to the table of humanity, can help us heal and grow as a country... and a people.

As a reference librarian, I have been waiting for this book for a long time. And this is one of the best reference sources on Africa that I have ever seen. Maybe even THE best. Africana is as comprehensive and scholarly a source on African history and culture, from ancient times to the present and on both sides of the Atlantic, as I guess is possible in one volume. And it is a wonderful source of biographical information on Africans and African-Americans, something reference librarians know can sometimes be hard to find. If your library doesn't have this book, strongly urge them to get it.

"Herein lie buried many things which if read with patience may show the strange meaning of beling black here in the dawning of the Twentieth Century." -W.E.B. DuBois, in the Forethought

This book contains essays written by W.E.B. DuBois. Some of them are very historical and recount the African American events and progess, and some of them are very personal, in which DuBois tells about his own life. I learned a lot from reading this book. For instance, I had always thought of what an awful thing slavery was- a horrible part of America's history- and that is was such a good thing that it was finally stopped. However, I never thought about the implications of life for the ex-slave after it was ended. Here were many African Americans, free, yes, but with what? Nothing. How would they get anywhere without money, education, jobs, etc.? And after freeing them leaders imposed unfair segragation and Jim Crow laws upon African Americans, so they were not really free at all.

Another thing that interested me about this book was the evolution of the slave's religion. It is very interesting to me how DuBois discusses their original religion of magic/ancestor and earth worship,etc and their gradual progression to the Christian religion of their masters, and then back to the beginning in an almost cyclical pattern. I don't think the African-American culture would be the same at all today if it were not for this mix of religious belief, although some would argue about how good it was for a religion to be forced about them and I would tend to agree.

W.E.B. DuBois was a pioneer of African American literature and thought. This book of essays will make you rethink the progress and status of African Americans throughout America's history, and will help you understand and sympathesize much more. I do agree with a previous review's critique that this book has some disturbing anti-semitic passages in it; in fact, a friend of mine wrote her paper for our 20th Century American Literature Class on that subject, so that did point that problem out to me. I find it strange that DuBois can so effectively and reasonably argue for the equality of African-Americans while so irrationably spout such anti-semitic comments. Except for this problem (which should not be overlooked), the book is very important and powerful, and it did and continues to do a lot for the advancement of African-Americans in the US.

The Souls of Black Folks, as other reviewers have pointed out, is a masterpiece of African-American thought. But it is even more than that when we consider the context and time in which the book was written. Most of what DuBois discusses is still relevant today, and this is a tribute to the man, not only as a scholar, but as someone who was continually adapting his views in the best image and interests of black people.

Some reviewers refer to DuBois as "the Black Emerson" and, as a university instructor, I heard similar references made: 'the Black Dewey" or "the Black Park," referring to the Chicago School scholars. Du Bois was brilliant; indeed, these white men should be being called "the white Du Bois"! Du Bois literally created the scientific method of observation and qualitative research. With the junk being put out today in the name of "dissertations," simply re-read Du Bois' work on the Suppression of the African Slave Trade and his work on the Philadelphia Negro and it is clear that he needs not be compared to any white man of his time or any other: he was a renaissance man who cared about his people and, unlike too many of the scholars of day, he didn't just talk the talk or write the trite; he walked the walk and organized the unorganizable.

White racism suffered because Du Bois raised the consciousness of the black masses. But he did more than that; by renouncing his American citizenship and moving to Ghana, he proved that Pan Africanism is not just something to preach or write about (ala Molefi Asante, Tony Martin, Jeffries and other Africanists); it is a way of life, both a means and an end. Du Bois organized the first ever Pan African Congress and, in doing so, set the stage for Afrocentricity, Black Studies and the Bandung Conference which would be held in 1954 in Bandung, Indonesia. Du Bois not only affected people in this country, he was a true internationalist.

Souls of Black Folk is an important narrative that predates critical race theory. It is an important reading, which predates formal Black Studies. The book calls for elevation of black people by empowering black communities -- today's leadership is so starved for acceptance that I believe that Karenga was correct when he says that these kind of people "often doubt their own humanity."

The book should be read by all.

I can remeber reading this book in my liberal high school for our American lit class and thinking that they just stuck it in for diversity's sake--that black history and American history are separate entities. But as I began to study more history in college I began to realize that American history could not exist without black history and experience--that Dubois' insights into double identity and how racism affects both the reciever and promulgator of racism in insidious ways are crucial to understanding of how America continues to wrestle with the implications of hundreds of years of slavery, Jim Crow and now, more subtle racism.

I haven't read the book in 8 years, but Dubois description of the moment when a black child realizes achieves enough self awarenesss to undersstand that he is "black" and what that means to one's sense of self (at least in the 1910's south) is absolutely heartbreaking.

True, the book is LONG, and printed on THIN pages. True, it includes just about everyone and everything rather than a selection of a few of the so-called "greatest" African-American writers. That is the beauty of it though, it is precisely what it claims to be: an anthology.

You won't be able to read it in a day or two. But it is a reference tool for your family. Read it slowly and carefully, and decide for yourself who is "worth including" and who isn't.

I think this book is great, but if the number of pages scares you, maybe it isn't the book for you.

The thin paper and large number of pages are a trademark of the Norton Anthologies. It does not by any stretch of the imagination make them unreadable. I am working my way through the Norton Anthology of British Literature Volume I and it has about 2600 pages on this "thin" paper. I am finding the reading enjoyable. If you want to critize do on the basis of content of the book, not what it is made of.

Taking upon yourself the task of creating an anthology that represents an entire literary and cultural tradition strikes me as a daunting task. The editors who helm such a project are almost playing god by deciding which authors and which works get into the "canon." Fortunately, the editors of "The Norton Anthology of African American Literature" have approached their duties with an expansive vision and an evident seriousness of purpose. The result is a collection which, although not without flaws, is a comprehensive and powerful sampling of a great tradition.

The editors have chosen a rich selection of works from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. A good balance of male and female authors is struck. I was particularly impressed by the great range of genres. Poetry, essays, autobiography, short fiction, drama, sermons, song lyrics, and even a few complete short novels are included. Science fiction writers (Octavia Butler, Samuel R. Delany), writers also included in the canon of lesbian and gay literature (Audre Lorde, James Baldwin, Essex Hemphill) and writers whose works have an experimental edge (Adrienne Kennedy, etc.) are included.

The extensive author biographies include fascinating information about each writer's life and body of work. Bibliographies and a chronology at the end of the collection are also useful.

Of course, no anthology this ambitious is going to please everybody. As much as I liked the book, I still missed the presence of certain favorite authors (Pat Parker, SDiane Bogus, and others). And of the authors represented, there were those for whom I might have chosen some different or additional selections (Audre Lorde's essay "Man Child" would have made an excellent complement to the work already represented). And what about Afro-Latino/a writers like Jesus Colon? With the exception of Puerto Rican-born Arthur Schomburg, they appear to be almost entirely absent.

I am sure that others with a love for and expertise in African American literature will cite other authors whom they would have liked to have seen included. And perhaps others will find the collection as it is simply too big (more than 2600 pages!) and overwhelming. But all things considered, this anthology is a truly impressive achievement. It is an outstanding resource for teachers, students, and general readers.

"Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston is a book about the life of a Negro woman in the 1900s. The story begins with Janie telling about her life, but then the author takes over the book. In the beginning, Janie returns to see some people she used to know sitting on their porch. After they dine with food she brings, Janie begins to tell her story, with Hurston soon taking over the point of view.

We first hear about Janie's grandmother wanting her to marry Logan Killicks, an older man. She protests her decision, but her grandmother wants her to have someone who can offer Janie the security and protection of his older age and a large potato farm. The marriage occurs in the next chapter, but soon after Janie leaves her new husband to be with another man - Joe Starks.

Joe and Janie go off to another place in Florida. Joe becomes mayor of a new town, named Eatonville, of all black people. Joe also builds a store in this town. At first, Janie is enjoying this relationship. But after the town starts developing, Janie doesn't enjoy life with Joe as much. This is partly because Joe is becoming the man of the town and Janie feels left out. She is asked by Joe to run the store, as Joe is busy doing town duties as the mayor, such as getting a new street light installed.

Later, many other events happen in the story, but if I told you anymore I'd spoil the book.

The author, Zora Neale Hurston, uses the dialog of Negroes in the story. Phrases such as "Aw, Tea Cake, you just say dat tuhnight because de fish and corn bread tasted sort of good" let you imagine the dialect used by southern black people. The characters created by the author really do let us know that they were blacks. We know this because of the way they talk, and because of the life that they are living as explained to us by Hurston.

One theme of this novel relates to man versus society. In this case, man is Janie and society is the men of the south. Janie finally realizes all the hardships she has been through and how her life has changed. In a nutshell, this novel tells the life a Negro woman trying to live a happy life through difficult times.

Zora Neale Hurston effectively combines southern black colloquialism with a variety of rhetorical strategies to reveal the emotional and spiritual journey of women as well as the struggles of being an African American woman in her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. The main character Janie symbolizes every woman's journey both literally and on a spiritual level. The story begins with Janie's return to Eatonville, Florida and then flashes back to reveal her life story as she tells her friend Phoeby everything that has happened. Janie learns at an early age what her place is in society when her Grandmother tells her "de white man throw down de load and tell de nigger man tuh pick it up... He hand it to his womenfolks. De nigger woman is de mule uh de world." This local color reveals the struggle that women have because they are women and especially African American women because not only are they women, but they are also black. This combination presents many obstacles for Janie as well as for African American women today. Janie's childhood escapes her at an early age when her Nanny forces her to marry Logan Killicks and she learns that "marriage did not make love". This change begins both her physical journey and emotional as she discovers her "first dream was dead, so she became a woman." Her physical journey continues as she marries her second husband Joe Starks and they move to the all black community of Eatonville, Florida. While she believes that he treats her better, he is only a small step up from Logan. Joe believes that Janie is there for him to look at and no one else, a sexist male attitude that all women must overcome at some time. A man in the town, Matt Bonner, owns an old beaten down mule which the men of the town all taunt and make fun of and Janie can not stand it. This mule symbolizes women and men's desire to own them and treat them however they wish. Hurston repeats the word "brute" to reinforce the idea that men feel superior to women. Janie slowly lets Joe take over her spirit and after his death, Janie "tore off the kerchief from her head and let down her plentiful hair" symbolizing her spiritual freedom. Janie meets the playful Tea Cake and she comments that she "felt like a child breaking rules" with him which is why she likes it. This simple simile reveals her regaining of innocence and more of her spirit and her journey leads her to Lake Okechobee with Tea Cake. Her encounters with Mrs. Turner show her that she must overcome the stereotypes of African Americans and women. Janie's journey propels her to an emotional low, and finally in the end she completes her spiritual journey and sets her soul free. Zora Neale Hurston captures the southern African American dialect to write an emotional story about a woman's journey. I truly enjoyed this story not only because of the beautiful writing, but also because of the valuable lessons it teaches. I learned not only about Janie, but also about Zora Hurston and surprisingly, myself.

Seven weeks is the reported time that it took to write this novel. Some would argue that accomplishment alone could justify its classic status. However I assure you that tidbit of information is more of an extra piece cake in the seven course feast of "Their Eyes Were Watching God."

Zora Neal Hurston, a renown author and anthropologist, wrote this book in 1937 and included all of her knowledge of Southern heritage, the influence of her travels, and her experience living as a woman. Hurston molds a tale of a journey that far too many African Americans have seen or heard in their lifetime or through the oral tales of their family.

Our protagonist, Janie, sits and shares with her Friend Phoeby a remarkable story of life and growth. She bares her soul like as if, what one author wrote, "there is no agony like bearing an untold story inside you." She explained in painstaking detail how at the direction of her grandmother her life followed a path she would have never chosen herself albeit she most undoubtedly would never change. She began her journey bound by the expectation of others and ends it with her own personal freedom; freedom of heart, body, and soul.

This book is vividly written and has captured the essence of the people in those places at that time. Ms. Hurston painted a picture and added sound with dialect. She made you feel as if Janie were telling the story directly to you rather than Phoeby. Through Janie's reflections this reader concluded that just about the whole time her eyes were in fact watching God as he guided her through all aspects of life allowing her to remain a victor under horrible circumstances and learning to be content in her on skin.

Our book club highly recommends this book. However to get its' full impact its best to have someone to discuss it with while or after you read it.