BOOKSHELF - Review

Ebony, August, 1999

UNFINISHED at the time of Ralph Ellison s death in 1994, Juneteenth (Random House, $25) is the long-anticipated follow-up novel to the classic Invisible Man. Ellison's executor John F. Callahan turned the 2000-page manuscript into a readable story of an unlikely relationship between a race-baiting White senator and his Black religious mentor. After he's wounded by an assassin's bullets, the senator calls to his hospital bedside the Black preacher who raised him. The story unfolds as the two recall their past. The result, though disjointed and sketchy at times, contains brilliant snatches of the prose for which Ellison is known.

Runaway Slaves: Rebels on the Plantation (Oxford University Press, $35) is a ground-breaking study of fugitive slaves that puts a new face on that "peculiar institution," by major American historian John Hope Franklin and his co-author Loren Schweninger. Putting to death the image of the happy slave, the authors paint a different picture of slavery--one that shows enslaved Africans in a perpetual state of resistance to their bondage. The authors share information from their detailed research, including wanted posters, newspapers, letters and other sources that back up their assertion that many slaves did whatever they could to free themselves from slavery--destroying property, stopping work, escape and even murder. It's a searing reply to the myth of the contented slaves and a fitting companion to Franklin's other works on American history.

Women's Liberation: Jesus Style: Messages of Spirituality & Wisdom for Today's Woman (Ruach Communications, Inc., $19.95), a collection of spiritual essays and sermons from our nation's preachers that teach lessons of empowerment for women, edited by Stephanie F. Bibb. Touching on issues ranging from self-esteem and motherhood to relationships and faith, the book challenges and comforts readers seeking fulfillment and insight.

Mighty Like a River: The Black Church and Social Reform (Oxford University Press, $25), a comprehensive study of how the African-American church helped shape American society, by Andrew Billingsley.

From Coal to Cream: A Black Man's Journey Beyond Color to an Affirmation of Race (The Free Press, $24), a penetrating memoir of one man`s journey to understand the dynamics of race and color, by Eugene Robinson. The author, a foreign correspondent, moves his family to Brazil and finds a strange paradise where a dark-skinned woman can consider herself White, where people debate whether an African-American man like himself is Black since his coloring makes him pardo (lightbrown-skinned), where instead of one drop of Black blood darkening your roots, one drop of White blood seems to make you Whiter. At first liberated by this new system, Robinson soon learns the Brazilian way erases an integral part of the Black experience as he explores the meaning of color and race in Brazil, America and worldwide. It's a standout book full of lush imagery and insightful reflections on race and life.

Bootleg (HarperCollins, $22), a collection of irreverent reflections on life and love, by comedian Damon Wayans. Commenting on topics spanning from relationships to racism, from Hollywood stars to sex, the author uses comedy to amuse and to provoke readers with his in-your-face style of humor.

Cheaters (Dutton, $24.95) is a deftly crafted tale about the games people play and the lies they tell on their search for love, by Eric Jerome Dickey. The author introduces us to a circle of young, Black professionals living in Los Angeles who have a lot going on careerwise but have some trouble when it comes to sustaining healthy relationships and making commitments. Through the stories of the book's characters, readers get an honest glimpse at the many struggles--both internal and external--people face on their search to meet the right person.

On the Real Side: A History of African American Comedy from Slavery to Chris Rock (Lawrence Hill Books, $16.95), a comprehensive history of Black humor from its African roots to the present, by Mel Watkins. The author takes readers through the essential elements of African-American comedy and then shows us its development and influence on American culture. This exhaustive book has the breadth of a Who's Who in Black comedy as it discusses important comedians, including Richard Pryor and Whoopi Goldberg, Redd Foxx and Moms Mabley while commenting on the social and political impact of their craft.

I Call Myself an Artist Boundaries: Writings By and About Charles Johnson (Indiana University Press, $35), a treasury of Johnson's writings, including essays, an autobiography, cartoons, speeches, interviews and outtakes from his novels, including Oxherding Tale, edited by Rudolph P. Byrd. The book ends with critical essays from scholars about the man and his craft.

Song for Anninho (Beacon Press, $22), a book-length poem, by Gayl Jones. The author writes a haunting love story of a Black man and woman in 17th century Brazil that addresses timeless issues such as hope, passion, evil, corruption and resilience.