Black History Month

Ebony, Feb, 2006 by Lynette R. Holloway

It's Black History Month and there is no better time than now to celebrate how far we've come and to gain knowledge of how far we have to go. Here is a list of books, old and new, that reflects on both the past and present.

BEFORE THE MAYFLOWER: A HISTORY OF BLACK AMERICA (Johnson Publishing Co., 1962), by Lerone Bennett Jr., is a Black history classic that highlights the trials and triumphs of Black Americans. It tells a story that is relevant to the lives of all Americans.

CREATING BLACK AMERICANS: AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND ITS MEANINGS FROM 1619 TO THE PRESENT (Oxford University Press, $35), by Neil Irvin Painter, incorporates a sweeping, historic narrative with the emotional expression of more than 150 works of African-American art.

TARGET ZERO: A LIFE IN WRITING (Palgrave/MacMillan, $27.95), by Eldridge Cleaver and edited by Kathleen Cleaver, tells Cleaver's controversial story in his own words. His story spans his quiet childhood from his youth spent in prison to his startling emergence as a Black Panther leader who became a "fugitive from justice."

UNCLE TOM OR NEW NEGRO? AFRICAN AMERICANS REFLECT ON BOOKER T. WASHINGTON AND UP FROM SLAVERY 100 YEARS LATER (Broadway Books/Harlem Moon, $15.95), edited by Rebecca Carroll, is a provocative collection of interviews with prominent African-Americans who reconsider the legacy of Booker T. Washington, one of America's most controversial figures.

SUCCCEEDING AGAINST THE ODDS (Warner Books, 1989), by John H. Johnson with Lerone Bennett Jr., is the autobiography of the late founder of Johnson Publishing Co., who helped reshape the media landscape for Black Americans. (Available only at ebony.com)

MY AMERICAN LIFE: FROM RAGE TO ENTITLEMENT (Atria Books, $24), by Dr. Price Cobbs, offers a clear-sighted overview of the Black experience in America during the last 75 years, and suggests that there is still far to go in the struggle for equality among people of all ethnicities and colors.

WINNING THE RACE: BEYOND THE CRISIS IN BLACK AMERICA (Gotham Books, $27.50), by John McWhorter, takes a look at serious problems facing African-American communities today, including the explosion of the inner-city drug trade, rising rates of incarceration and teen pregnancies.

ALL DELIBERATE SPEED: REFLECTIONS ON THE FIRST HALF-CENTURY OF BROWN v. BOARD OF EDUCATION (W.W. Norton & Co., $15.95), by Charles Ogletree Jr., takes an absorbing and sobering look at the history of race and integration in the United States. Ogletree explores why Brown v. Board of Education, the single-most important decision on race in the 20th century, should be carefully analyzed.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: BLACK MAYORS, BLACK COMMUNITIES, AND THE CALL FOR A DEEP DEMOCRACY (Oxford University Press, $29.95), by J. Phillip Thompson III, traces the historical development and contemporary practice of Black mayoral politics. Thompson writes that Black constituents naturally look to Black mayors to effect great change for the poor, but the reality is a little more complicated. He argues that Black mayors, legislators and political activists need to more effectively challenge opinions and public policies supported by the White public, and encourage greater political inclusion and open political discourse within Black communities.

MIRROR TO AMERICA:THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JOHN HOPE FRANKLIN (Farrar, Straus & Giroux Book Publishers, $25). At 90 years old, Dr. Franklin remains one of the most admired, relevant and influential historians alive today. His first book, FROM SLAVERY TO FREEDOM, originally published in 1947, is still used in college classrooms across the nation, having sold upward of 3.5 million copies to date.

A PRISONER IN THE GARDEN: PHOTOS, LETTERS, AND NOTES FROM NELSON MANDELA'S 27 YEARS iN PRISON (Viking Studio, $29.95), presented by The Nelson Mandela Foundation, is a compendium of never-before-published letters, notes, diary entries and full-color photos that vividly bring to life Mandela's experience as a prisoner at Robben Island. The book gives life to both Mandela's past and to the memory of his ancestry oppressed by apartheid.