Black Usa And Spain

During the 20th-century, Spaniards and African-Americans shared significant cultural memories forged by the profound impact that various artistic and historical events had on each other. Addressing three crucial periods (the Harlem Renaissance and Jazz Age, the Spanish Civil War, and Franco's dictatorship), this collection of essays explores the transnational bond and the intercultural exchanges between these two communities, using race as a fundamental critical category. The study of travelogues, memoirs, documentaries, interviews, press coverage, comics, literary works, music, and performances by iconic figures such as Josephine Baker, Langston Hughes, and Ramón Gómez de la Serna, as well as the experiences of ordinary individuals such as African American nurse Salaria Kea, invite an examination of the ambiguities and paradoxes that underlie this relationship: among them, the questionable and, at times, surprising racial representations of blacks in Spanish avant-garde texts and in the press during the years of Franco’s dictatorship; African Americans very unique view of the Spanish Civil War in light of their racial identity; and the oscillation between fascination and anxiety when these two communities look at each other.

As in America, the topic of race in Spain is a complex one. Black in Spain tackles this complex subject with thorough analysis, rich insight and humor from the perspective of a black American woman living and teaching in Spain. In this series of essays, the author offers firsthand accounts of her experience navigating the intersection of race, culture and color in a foreign country, all while sorting through the challenges presented by expat life. In each essay, the author invites the reader to experience intimate glimpses of real-life moments that shock, confuse or reveal culturally-specific nuances about race and racial identity. The result is a concise and first-of-its-kind comparison of black life in Spain versus the US. It's a must-read for any person of color considering travelling to or living in Spain.

This book examines the rich collection of travel writing about Spain by twentieth-century African American writers as Claude McKay, Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, and Frank Verby, surveying the ways in which such authors perceive Spain's place in the world. From the vantage point of Spain, these African American writers create transformative literary maps of the world that invite readers to reconsider their relations to others.

Europe was in turmoil during the first half of the twentieth century. The political stability that emanated from nineteenth-century political liberalism began to break down, reaching climaxes in the Great War, the Spanish Civil War, and the Second World War. Revolutions in Russia and Spain threatened parliamentary governments, and the Armenian genocide that began in 1915 foreshadowed the systematic destruction of European Jews in the 1930s and 1940s. Dictators seized power and established authoritarian regimes that stymied democratic expression and censored the press. Much of the scholarship on each of the conflicts has tended to focus on the military (male) and the civilian (female) binary. Women and children experienced every conflict during this tumultuous period as civilians, consumers, victims, exiles, and combatants. As histories of women and war suggest, there are exciting new areas of research and scholarship that resist simplistic binaries. Women were not simply civilians or victims. They were actors in the minutiae of wars, revolutions, dictatorships, and genocides. Children were present in these conflicts and not invisible, as many histories suggest. They too were actors and often politicized by propagandist literature and sectarian education through their own experiences and the politics of their families. This collection seeks to complicate the child/ adult distinction and examine the experiences of women and children as lenses to view a more collective face of conflict. While the volume brings to attention conflicts in Europe, the editors acknowledge the global ramifications of the revolutions, wars, and genocides, as well as the multitude of individual experiences. This collection seeks to expand understanding of the personal as the political in European conflicts from 1900-1950. We believe the focus on women and children offers a diverse perspective on five tumultuous decades of European history.

The phrase “The Black Legend” was coined in 1912 by a Spanish journalist in protest of the characterization of Spain by other Europeans as a backward country defined by ignorance, superstition, and religious fanaticism, whose history could never recover from the black mark of its violent conquest of the Americas. Challenging this stereotype, Rereading the Black Legend contextualizes Spain’s uniquely tarnished reputation by exposing the colonial efforts of other nations whose interests were served by propagating the “Black Legend.” A distinguished group of contributors here examine early modern imperialisms including the Ottomans in Eastern Europe, the Portuguese in East India, and the cases of Mughal India and China, to historicize the charge of unique Spanish brutality in encounters with indigenous peoples during the Age of Exploration. The geographic reach and linguistic breadth of this ambitious collection will make it a valuable resource for any discussion of race, national identity, and religious belief in the European Renaissance.

The Friday Foster comic strip is the story ofa former nightclub “camera bunny” turned photographer’s assistant turned fashion model. With an innate inclination to help others and a natural beauty that makes her a magnet for men, Friday often finds herself in some very sticky situations and world class adventures. For the FIRST TIME EVER, the classic FRIDAY FOSTER newspaper color comic strip created by James D. “Jim” Lawrence (of Buck Rogers and James Bond fame) and illustrated by Jorge “Jordi” Longarón then later Gray Morrow is collected. The strip ran from 1974-1970 and inspired the 1975 movie of the same name starring Pam Grier. The strip is the first mainstream comic strip starring an African-American character in the title role. The book will also include a significant bonus section including multiple interviews, an expanded sketchbook section, artwork, photos, essays, articles, behind-the-scenes info, and more!