The Complete Encyclopedia Of African American History 400 Years Of Achievement

"The Complete Encyclopedia of African American history. This comprehensive resource explores the past, the progress, and the present of African Americans in four volumes, each building, complementing, and expanding on the previous volume" -- back cover.

This comprehensive resource explores the past, the progress, and the present of African Americans in four volumes, each building, complementing, and expanding on the previous volume. - "Volume 1: 400 Years of Achievement" presents four centuries of noteworthy accomplishments through a fascinating mix of biographies--including more than 750 influential figures--little-known or misunderstood historical facts, and enlightening essays on significant legislation and movements. - "Volume 2: Notable Firsts" is an exhilarating listing of the accomplishments of black Americans in the arts, business, education, the military, medicine and science, and sports. - "Volume 3: Heroes and Heroines" is an eclectic mix of profiles of 150 well-known and lesser-known individuals who have made a lasting and profound impact on our culture. - "Volume 4: Civil Rights Feats and Facts" details the important people, places, and events of the black struggle for freedom.The Complete Encyclopedia of African American History showcases a legacy of pride, struggle, and triumph through consequential events and people, covering milestones and challenges met while highlighting the considerable contributions African Americans have made to the fabric of American society and culture. It provides insights on--and inspiration from--the influence and impact of African Americans on the United States in a broad range of endeavors from politics, education, religion, business, science, medicine, the military, sports, literature, music, dance, theater, art, film, television, and more.

This volume highlights the biographies of African American men and women of note, heroes, as defined by their lives and work.

Courage, resilience and triumph! Celebrating the African American experience, the extraordinary people, and their profound influence on American history! African Americans helped build the United States. Their contributions, deeds, and influence are interwoven into the fabric of the country. Celebrating centuries of achievements, the African American Almanac: 400 Years of Black Excellence provides insights on the impact and inspiration of African Americans on U.S. society and culture spanning centuries and presented in a fascinating mix of biographies, historical facts, and enlightening essays on significant legislation and movements. Covering events surrounding African American literature, art and music; the civil rights movement; religion within the black community; advances in science and medicine; and politics, education, business, the military, sports, theater, film, and television, this important reference connects history to the issues currently facing the African American community. The African American Almanac also honors the lives and contributions of 800 influential figures, including ... Stacey Abrams, Muhammad Ali, Maya Angelou, Josephine Baker, Amiri Baraka, Daisy Bates, Reginald Wayne Betts, Simone Biles, Cory Bush, Bisa Butler, George Washington Carver, Ray Charles, Bessie Coleman, Claudette Colvin, Gary Davis, Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. Du Bois, Michael Eric Dyson, Duke Ellington, Margie Eugene-Richard, Medgar Evers, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Roxane Gay, Amanda Gorman, Nicole Hanna-Jones, Eric H. Holder, Jr., Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Ketanji Brown Jackson, LeBron James, Mae C. Jemison, Gayle King, Martin Luther King, Jr., Queen Latifah, Jacob Lawrence, Kevin Liles, Thurgood Marshall, Walter Mosley, Elijah Muhammad, Barack Obama, Gordon Parks, Rosa Parks, Richard Pryor, Condoleezza Rice, Smokey Robinson, Wilma Rudolph, Betty Shabazz, Tavis Smiley, Dasia Taylor, Clarence Thomas, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Ross Tubman, C. Delores Tucker, Usher, Denmark Vesey, Alice Walker, Raphael Warnock, Booker T. Washington, Denzel Washington, Cornell West, Colson Whitehead, Justus Williams, Serena Williams, Oprah Winfrey, Malcolm X, and many more. Completely updated and revised for the first time in over a decade, the African American Almanac looks at the recent challenges—from the Black Lives Movement to Covid-19—and ongoing resilience of our nation, and it shines a light on our momentous and complicated history, the individual accomplishments and contributions of the celebrated and unsung—but no less worthy—people who built our country and who continue to influence American society. Comprehensive and richly illustrated, it thoroughly explores the past, progress, and current conditions of America. This seminal work is the most complete and affordable single-volume reference of African American culture and history available today, and it illustrates and demystifies the emotionally moving, complex, and often lost history of black life in America!

A celebration of achievement, accomplishments, and pride! The first African American president, U.S. senator, and the first black lawyer in the Department of Education. The first black chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff and the first African American commissioned officer in the Marine Corps. The first black professors in a variety of fields. The first African American advertising agency. The first African American Olympian. The first black pilot for a scheduled commercial airline. The first recorded slave revolt in North America. The first African American cookbook writer. Revel and rejoice in the renowned and lesser-known, barrier-breaking trailblazers in all fields—arts, entertainment, business, civil rights, education, government, invention, journalism, religion, science, sports, music, and more. Black Firsts: 500 Years of Trailblazing Achievements and Ground-Breaking Events, Fourth Edition bears witness to the long and complex history of African Americans! Expanded, updated, and revised for the first time in over eight years, Black Firsts collects more than 500 all-new achievements and previously unearthed firsts. This massive tome proves that African American accomplishments are wide-ranging and ongoing, documenting thousands of personal victories and triumphs. Who was the first black American depicted on a postage stamp? (1940 Booker Taliaferro Washington) Who was the first African American bookseller? (1834 David Ruggles, New York City) Where was the first black car dealership? (1941 Edward Davis, Detroit, Studebaker) When was the first black-owned company listed on a major stock exchange? (1971 Johnson Products) Who was the first black U.S. senator? (1870 Hiram Rhoades [Rhodes] Revels, Mississippi) Who was the African American columnist who won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary? (1989 Clarence Page) Who was the U.S. Supreme Court’s first black justice? (1967 Thurgood Marshall) Who first broke the color barrier to become a flight attendant? (1958 Ruth Carol Taylor) Who became the first black to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point? (1877 Henry Ossian Flipper) Which model was the first black to grace Sports Illustrated cover? (1997 Tyra Banks) Who became the American Medical Association’s first black president? (1995 Lonnie Bristow) What is the oldest surviving black church in America? (The African Meeting House, built in 1806 and known as the Joy Street Baptist Church, in Boston) Who became the first black pitcher to win a World Series game? (1952 Rookie of the Year, Joe Black, of the Brooklyn Dodgers) Who was the first regularly recognized black physician in the United States? (1780s James Durham [Derham]) Who was the first black actress to receive an Emmy Award? (1969 Gail Fisher) Who became the first black professional football player? (1904 Charles W. Follis) What was first short story published by a black woman in the United States? (1859 Frances Ellen Watkins Harper’s “The Two Offers”) Who was the black explorer who joined the Lewis and Clark expedition? (York) Who was the first black lawyer to argue a case before the Supreme Court? (1880 Samuel R. Lowery) Which two songs by black Americans were the first to be send out of the solar system? (1977 Chuck Berry’s song “Johnny B. Goode” and Blind Willie Johnson’s “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground” on Voyager I) What famous inventor and agronomist has a national monument named after him in Diamond, Missouri? (1960 George Washington Carver) What movie featured the first black female lead in a Disney animated feature? (2009 “The Princess and the Frog” starred Anika Noni Rose) Who was the first black American to win a gold medal in the women’s all-around final competition.? (2012 Gabrielle “Gabby” Christina Victoria Douglas) Who were the Tuskegee Airmen and why are they so famous? (1941 The U.S. Congress established the first combat unit for blacks in the Army Air Corps with a training facility for black airmen, known as the Tuskegee Airmen, located at Tuskegee Institute, Alabama) Who participated in the first armed encounter of the American Revolution and later became the first black to receive an honorary master's degree? (Lemuel Haynes) Who was the author of a book of poetry that won the first Pulitzer Prize awarded to a black American? (1950 Gwendolyn Brooks for “Annie Allen”) What was the first black record company? (Pace Phonograph Company established 1921 by Henry Pace) Who was the black hero who sacrificed himself at the Boston Massacre, an event that would help inspire the American Revolution? (1770 Crispus Attucks) Who was the first black entertainer to host his own talk show on national television? (1989 Arsenio Hall) Who was the first African American to lead the NASA space program? (2009 Charles Frank Bolden Jr.) Who was the first black American to win the Nobel Peace Prize? (1944 Ralph Johnson Bunche) Who was the first black American athlete to win an Olympic gold medal? (1908 John Baxter “Doc” Taylor Jr. winner of the 4 X 400-meter relay in London) Which inventor had the first patent granted an African American? (1872 Elijah McCoy) Who was the first African American to win a Grammy Award? (1959 Count [William] Basie) Who is thought to be the United States’ first black millionaire? (1890 Thomy Lafon, New Orleans real estate speculator and moneylender) Who was the first black named Association of College and Research Librarian of the Year? (1985 Jessie Carney Smith) Which black first sang a principal role with the Metropolitan Opera? (1955 Marian Anderson) When was the first black judge appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals? (1966 Spottswood Robinson) Which black artist was the first to be featured in a solo exhibit at New York’s Museum of Modern Art? (1937 William Edmondson) When was the first black mayor of Dallas elected? (1995 Ron Kirk) Who was the first elected black chairman of Republican National Convention? (1884 John Roy Lynch) Who was the first known black to graduate from an American college? (1823 Alexander Lucius Twilight received a bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College in Vermont) With more than 350 photos and illustrations, this information-rich book also includes a helpful bibliography and an extensive index, adding to its usefulness. This vital collection will appeal to anyone interested in America’s amazing history and resilient people.

Showcases a legacy of pride, struggle, and triumph through consequential events and people, covering milestones and challenges met while highlighting the considerable contributions African Americans have made to the fabric of American society and culture. It provides insights on--and inspiration from--the influence and impact of African Americans on the United States in a broad range of endeavors from politics, education, religion, business, science, medicine, the military, sports, literature, music, dance, theater, art, film, television, and more.

It is impossible to understand America without understanding the history of African Americans. In nearly seven hundred entries, the Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619-1895 documents the full range of the African American experience during that period - from the arrival of the first slave ship to the death of Frederick Douglass - and shows how all aspects of American culture, history, and national identity have been profoundly influenced by the experience of African Americans.The Encyclopedia covers an extraordinary range of subjects. Major topics such as "Abolitionism," "Black Nationalism," the "Civil War," the "Dred Scott case," "Reconstruction," "Slave Rebellions and Insurrections," the "Underground Railroad," and "Voting Rights" are given the in-depth treatment one would expect. But the encyclopedia also contains hundreds of fascinating entries on less obvious subjects, such as the "African Grove Theatre," "Black Seafarers," "Buffalo Soldiers," the "Catholic Church and African Americans," "Cemeteries and Burials," "Gender," "Midwifery," "New York African Free Schools," "Oratory and Verbal Arts," "Religion and Slavery," the "Secret Six," and much more. In addition, the Encyclopedia offers brief biographies of important African Americans - as well as white Americans who have played a significant role in African American history - from Crispus Attucks, John Brown, and Henry Ward Beecher to Olaudah Equiano, Frederick Douglass, Sarah Grimke, Sojourner Truth, Nat Turner, Phillis Wheatley, and many others.All of the Encyclopedia's alphabetically arranged entries are accessibly written and free of jargon and technical terms. To facilitate ease of use, many composite entries gather similar topics under one headword. The entry for Slave Narratives, for example, includes three subentries: The Slave Narrative in America from the Colonial Period to the Civil War, Interpreting Slave Narratives, and African and British Slave Narratives. A headnote detailing the various subentries introduces each composite entry. Selective bibliographies and cross-references appear at the end of each article to direct readers to related articles within the Encyclopedia and to primary sources and scholarly works beyond it. A topical outline, chronology of major events, nearly 300 black and white illustrations, and comprehensive index further enhance the work's usefulness.

This rich cultural history of African Americans outlines their travails, triumphs, and achievements in negotiating individual and collective identities to overcome racism, slavery, and the legacies of these injustices from colonial times to the present. One of every five Americans at the nation's beginning was an African American—a fact that underscores their importance in U.S. growth and development. This fascinating study moves from Africans' early contacts with the Americas to African Americans' 21st-century presence, exploring their role in building the American nation and in constructing their own identities, communities, and cultures. Historian and lawyer Thomas J. Davis's multi-themed narrative of compelling content provides a historical overview of the rise of African Americans from slavery and segregation in their anti-racist quest to enjoy equal rights and opportunities to reach the American Dream of pursuing happiness. The work features portraits of individuals and treats images of African Americans in their roles as performers, producers, consumers, and creators, and as the face of social problems such as crime, education, and poverty.