Discovering Black New York

From the first African explorers to the first black president, this illustrated history is an excellent resource and “an epic work” (School Library Journal). Discovering Black America is an unprecedented account of more than 400 years of African American history set against a background of American and global events. It begins with a black sailor aboard the Niña with Christopher Columbus and continues through the colonial period, slavery, the Civil War, Jim Crow, and civil rights to the first African American president in the White House. With first-person narratives from diaries and journals, interviews, and archival images, Discovering Black America provides an intimate understanding of this extensive history. “Engaging . . . brings to light many intriguing and tragically underreported stories.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Reproductions of historical documents, photographs, and artwork provide a sense of immediacy to this immersive tapestry, which reaches well beyond the milestones typically outlined in history books.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Absolutely gorgeous in design, with a harmonious marriage of text and colorful archival images, this is the kind of book that invites browsing, and its extensive reach will make this a go-to title for report writers.” —School Library Journal “Begins with the first African explorers and seamen arriving in the New World in the fifteenth century, and . . . ends with the presidential election of Barack Obama . . . meticulous footnotes and a bibliography of recommended books...An excellent title for classroom support.” —Booklist “Thoroughly researched and documented...an outstanding resource for students. The primary source documents, photographs, and archival maps that complement this compelling account will engage readers.” —Library Media Connection (highly recommended) An NCSS/CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People

This guide takes readers off the beaten path to the most important African-American landmarks in the Big Apple, including the Apollo Theater, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and excellent soul food restaurants. Photos.

In the post-Trump era, the Black lived experience continues to come under assault. Emerging from the suffering imposed on Black bodies comes Black Existential Philosophy, an umbrella term encompassing the multiple depictions of Black life under White subjugation. Whether taking the form of first hand narratives of the lives of enslaved Blacks, the racialized theological discourse of the Nation of Islam, or the writings of W.E.B. Du Bois and Frantz Fanon, the works comprising Black Existentialism offer a look into both the world of the racialized Black “Other” as well as the never-ending quest to recapture and reassert Black humanity. In Discovering Black Existentialism, E. Anthony Muhammad documents his personal and academic journey to Black Existentialism. In doing so, the book illuminates the power of curriculum as a shaping agent in the life of an educator and researcher. As a combination of autobiography, theory, and pedagogy, this work gives the reader an intimate view into the developmental arc of a Black Existentialist scholar. This book offers valuable insights to students searching for direction, to researchers attempting to find meaning in their work, and to educators striving to make their pedagogy relevant to the lives of their students.

The search for an African American community in rural Vermont

In this pioneering, nonobjective study, a distinguished Black sexologist tackles one of the most controversial aspects of American race relations. The subject of Black sexuality has been widely discussed in every possible popular format for the past four hundred years, yet serious scholarship in the area is lacking. While Black sexuality has been a pervasive force in American life, it has been too sensitive a topic for Black or white authors to write about in a serious, non-polemical format. Robert Staples explores same-sex attitudes and behavior, interracial sexual relations, rape, prostitution, pornography, and the stereotypes of Black sexual superiority in this scholarly yet accessible collection. Staples shows how vaunted and feared sexual differences were the 'raison d'etre' of Southern school segregation, race-based laws, white flight from the inner cities, the double sexual standard, lynchings, and race riots. This groundbreaking study concludes with a speculation on the future of Black sexuality in the 21st century based on our knowledge of current demographic and economic forces.

This book expands the concept of homeplace with contemporary Black homeschooling positioned as a form of resistance among single Black mothers. Chapters explore each mother’s experience and unique context from their own perspectives in deciding to homeschool and developing their practice. It corroborates many of the issues that plague the education of Black children in America, including discipline disproportionality, frequent referrals to special education services, teachers’ low expectations, and the marginalization of Black parents as partners in traditional schools. This book demonstrates how single mothers experience the inequity in school choice policies and also provides an understanding of how single Black mothers experience home-school partnerships within traditional schools. Most importantly, this volume challenges stereotypical characterizations of who homeschools and why.

Research elucidating the developmental processes in Black children and youths' schooling and educative experiences is increasing (e.g., Carter-Andrews et al., 2019; Daneshzadeh & Sirrakos, 2018; Jackson & Howard, 2014; Neal-Jackson, 2018). Yet, the notion of “freedom dreaming” in relation to Black children and youth has received less attention within the fields of education and psychology. We draw from U.S. historian, Professor Robin D.G. Kelley's, concept of freedom dreaming to illuminate not only what we are fighting against in the education of Black youth (e.g., racial bias and discrimination, unfair disciplinary practices and criminalization, and Black youths' overrepresentation in special education and underrepresentation in gifted and talented programs), but also what we are fighting for - liberatory educational praxis that build on Black youths' individual and cultural strengths. In the current call, freedom dreaming refers to: (1) actively uplifting the complex lives and stories of Black children and youth in educational settings; (2) elevating Black children and youths' intersectional experiences related to ability, gender identity, sexuality, age, and socio-economic class; and (3) highlighting the innovative work of scholars who understand and value community power in efforts to advance educational change. We draw on Dr. Bettina Love's (2019) call for educational freedom, wherein she states, “The practice of abolitionist teaching is rooted in the internal desire we all have for freedom, joy, restorative justice (restoring humanity, not just rules), and to matter to ourselves, our community, our family, and our country with the profound understanding that we must “demand the impossible” by refusing injustice and the disposability of dark children.” (p. 7)

Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones, whose nickname the "Black Patti" likened her to the well-known Spanish-born opera star Adelina Patti, was a distinguished African American soprano during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Performing in such venues as Carnegie Hall and Madison Square Garden, Jones also sang before four U.S. presidents. In this compelling book-length biography of Jones, Maureen Donnelly Lee chronicles the successes and challenges of this musical pioneer. Lee details how Jones was able to overcome substantial obstacles of racial bias to build a twenty-eight-year career performing in hundreds of opera houses and theaters throughout North America and Europe. Serving as a role model for other African American women who came after her, Jones became a successful performer despite the many challenges she faced. She confronted head on the social difficulties African American performers endured during the rise of Jim Crow segregation. Throughout her career Jones was a concert singer performing ballads and operatic pieces, and she eventually went on to star in her own musical comedy company, the Black Patti Troubadours. Critics praised Jones as America's leading African American prima donna, with some even dubbing her voice one in a million. Lee's research, utilizing many black newspapers, such as the New York Age and the Indianapolis Freeman, concert reviews, and court documents brings overdue recognition to an important historical songstress. Sissieretta Jones: "The Greatest Singer of Her Race," 1868–1933 provides a comprehensive, moving portrait of Jones and a vivid overview of the exciting world in which she performed.