Catalog Search Results
Author
Pub. Date
[2016]
Language
English
Description
Jackie Robinson's story is not only a compelling drama of heroism, but also as a template of the African American freedom struggle. A towering athletic talent, Robinson's greater impact was on preparing the way for the civil rights reform wave following WWII. But Robinson's story has always been far more complex than the public perception has allowed. Brooklyn Dodgers executive Branch Rickey famously told the young Robinson that he was "looking for...
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
The Conjure Woman (1899) is a collection of stories by African American author, lawyer, and political activist Charles Chesnutt. "The Goophered Grapevine," the collection's opening story, was originally published in The Atlantic in 1887, making Chesnutt the first African American to have a story published in the magazine. The Conjure Woman is now considered a masterpiece of African American fiction for its use of folklore and exploration of racist...
Author
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
"In 1964, Fannie Lou Hamer delivered a heart-wrenching testimony before the Democratic National Convention's (DNC) Credentials Committee. In this speech, Hamer represented both the concerns of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) and the limits of American democracy when she proclaimed: 'I question America. Is this the land of the free and the home of the brave where we have to sleep with our telephones off the hooks because our lives be...
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Series
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English
Formats
Description
Born in West Africa in approximately 1753, Wheatley was sold into slavery as a child and transported to the American colonies in 1761. She was bought by a wealthy Boston merchant named John Wheatley to serve as a servant to his family. They gave the young girl the name Phillis, after the ship that had transported her to America. The Wheatley family soon recognized her amazing intellect and talent and started giving her an education very unusual for...
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
This is an impressive, moving, and disturbing account of racial violence and lynchings, with the central part of the story focused on the final fight for his life of Robert Charles. Charles appears nearly heroic even as he kills four police officers and two civilians and wounds twenty more by gunfire, because Ida B. Wells-Barnett portrays this as the fallout of an unprovoked assault upon Charles and his desperation to fight against his own lynching...
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Series
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English
Formats
Description
Henry Box Brown (b. 1816) was born in Louisa County, Virginia, and was a slave for thirty-three years before escaping to Philadelphia in a three-by-two-foot box. His life as a slave was relatively free from physical abuse by his slaveholders. His first owner was John Barret, a former Richmond mayor. Upon Barret's death, Brown was, enslaved by William Barret, John's son. Brown was fed, clothed, and given spending money, much to the amazement of slaves...
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Series
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English
Formats
Description
During the 1890s, Ida Wells-Barnett began documenting lynching in the United States. Her findings, which were based on frequent claims that lynchings were reserved for black criminals only, were published in articles and through her pamphlet called Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in all its Phases. Wells exposed lynching as a barbaric practice of whites in the South used to intimidate and oppress African Americans who created economic and political competition-and...
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
Lydia Maria Child (1802-1880) was an American novelist, women's rights activist, abolitionist, journalist, and activist for Native American rights. Child is famous for her fiction and domestic manuals, which enjoyed international popularity during the mid 19th century. However, her work also drew controversy due to her tackling such issues as male dominance and white supremacy. First published in 1865, "The Freedmen's Book" contains a collection of...
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
"Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl," which was first published in 1861, was one of the first slave narratives penned by a woman. The book tells the story of Harriet Jacobs (1813-1897), a slave from North Carolina who suffered greatly (along with her family) at the hands of her ruthless owner. After several failed attempts to escape, Harriet eventually made her way north. Her journey, which involved years of hiding, was incredibly slow. She did...
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Series
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English
Formats
Description
A compilation of insightful essays and speeches by the renowned abolitionist and orator, Frederick Douglass. This collection brings together some of his most powerful and eloquent writings on the issues of slavery, freedom, and racial justice, showcasing his intellectual brilliance and tireless advocacy for the rights of African Americans. Through his incisive analysis and powerful rhetoric, Douglass challenges the prevailing views of his time and...
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
Martin Robison Delany's “The Condition, Elevation, Emigration, and Destiny of the Colored People” offers a comprehensive examination of the social and political circumstances that confronted African Americans during the mid-19th century. Delany's work is an essential contribution to the disciplines of historiography and anthropology in that it provides insight into how African Americans negotiated a range of pressing issues including slavery,...
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Series
Language
English
Description
An important work of 19th century American literature. It is a highly symbolic play that serves to critique the enslavement of African Americans and express Brown's notions of emancipation. Through his use of elaborate metaphors and allusions, Brown articulates the sentiments of both the oppressed and oppressor, thereby creating a drama that examines social injustice from multiple perspectives.
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
The Goodness of St. Rocque and Other Stories by Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson is a highly acclaimed collection of short stories that provides insight into the lives of African Americans in the early 20th century. Through her vivid and evocative writing, Dunbar-Nelson takes readers on a journey through the struggles and triumphs of her characters as they strive to achieve social equity in a racially divided society.
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
An important text in the canon of African American literature, representing a unique approach to exploring the complexities of race, class and identity during the early twentieth century. Through his use of lyrical language and poetic imagery, McKay offers insightful meditations on the cultural displacement experienced by many African Americans living in northern cities such as New York City.
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
Oscar Micheaux's novel, The Homesteader, is a work of fiction that explores the complexities of racial identity in the early 20th century. Through its narrative structure and character development, the text offers a nuanced examination of how the concept of race was constructed and perpetuated through cultural and economic structures. At its core, the novel serves as an exploration into how racial identity can both challenge and affirm traditional...
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
Iola Leroy; Or, Shadows Uplifted by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper is an important example of early African American literature. This novel takes the form of a realist narrative that chronicles the struggles of African Americans to achieve freedom, dignity and equality in a post-Civil War society. Through its protagonist, Iola Leroy, Harper offers an uplifting story about the resilience of black people despite systemic oppression.
78) The Mule-Bone
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
“The Mule-Bone”, written by renowned African American poet Langston Hughes, is a satirical play that engages the complexities of race relations and the significance of the cultural heritage of African Americans in the early 20th century. The play follows two friends, Dave and Bones, who enter into a heated debate about which one of them will be able to buy a mule at an auction.
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
Pauline E. Hopkins' "Of One Blood: The Hidden Self" is a novel of immense significance in the African-American literary canon. Through its exploration of racialized identity and its interrogation of essentialist discourses, Hopkins sheds light on the complexities of race and power dynamics in early 20th century America.
80) Ourika
Author
Series
Language
English
Description
A canonical work of French literature that chronicles the struggles and triumphs of an African woman's attempts to navigate the oppressive colonial structures of 18th century Paris. Through her narrative, the protagonist Ourika is able to challenge and defy the expectations placed upon her as a woman of color, while ultimately asserting her humanity in a hostile environment.
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