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Audience, Agency and Identity in Black Popular Culture analyses black cultural representations that appropriate anti-black stereotypes. Using examples from literature, media, and art, Worsley examines how these cultural products do not rework anti-black stereotypes into seemingly positive images. Rather, they present anti-black stereotypes in their original forms and encourage audiences not to ignore, but to explore them. Shifting critical commentary from a need to censor these questionable images, Worsley offers a complex consideration of the value of and problems with these alternative anti-racist strategies in light of stereotypes’ persistence. This book furthers our understanding of the historical circumstances that are influencing contemporary representations of black subjects that are purposefully derogatory and documents the consequences of these images.

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This study explores the lives, educational philosophies, and social activism of Anna Julia Cooper and Nannie Helen Burroughs. They were among the most outstanding late 19th and early 20th century Black women educators. The study identifies and analyzes themes that illuminate Cooper and Burroughs' "unique angle of vision of self, community, and society" as it relates to their distinctive educational philosophies and contributions to American education. ... Read more

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During the early years of the motion picture industry, black performers were often depicted as shuckin’ and jivin’ caricatures. Specifically, black males were portrayed as toms, coons and bucks, while the mammy and tragic mulatto archetypes circumscribed black femininity. This misrepresentation began to change in the 1950s and 1960s when performers such as Dorothy Dandridge and Sidney Poitier were cast in more positive roles. These performers paved the way for the black exploitation or blaxploitation movement, which began in 1970 and flourished until 1975. The movement is characterized by films that feature a black hero or heroine, black supporting characters, a predominately black urban setting, a display of black sexuality, excessive violence, and a contemporary rhythm and blues soundtrack. Blaxploitation films were made across varying genres, but the questionable elements of some of the pictures caused them to be referred to as "blaxploitation" films with little or no regard given to their generic categorization. This book examines how Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970), Blacula (1972), The Mack (1973), and Cleopatra Jones (1973) can be classified within the detective, horror, gangster, and cop action genres, respectively, and illustrates the manner in which the inclusion of "blackness" represents a significant revision to the aforementioned genres.

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A thorough, in-depth study, first presented as the author'sPh.D. thesis (U. of Michigan, 1978). Begins with the origins of black soldiers in the Americas and continues with discussion encompassing blacks in various military and non-military roles, black allies of white armies, blacks on British ex ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Armed African Americans Defend the Americas
Armed African Americans have defended the Americas since the beginning of America. They helped to build the military forces in almost all the countries of the New World just as African Americans helped build the infrastructures and cultures in this hemisphere. Their positive military contributions have generally been ignored or downplayed just as minority forms of resistance have been generally overplayed by both historians and the popular culture.

In war most blacks have reacted with motives as complex as those of the whites, Indians and Europeans who led them or fought alongside or against them. This book explores the impact of blacks on war and war on blacks, who served in every kind of military unit and engagement, displaying loyalty, courage and skill often superior to that of white troops. Slave soldiers were often treated equally and honorably in much of the Americas long before the U.S. got around to employing them in the military or integrating them in units. The social, political and psychological effects of arming slaves gave freedom and social mobility to many, breaking down barriers of class, caste, race and color and fostering equality and emancipation in most colonies. Instead of turning their weapons on their masters or the slave system, as some modern ideologues would wish us to believe, the armed slaves nobly and effectively fought for their colonies and homes, demonstrating their human qualities before color, race or African origin. The military turned out to be perhaps the most liberating and egalitarian institution in racial terms, as it still is generally. Liberation through loyal arms stands sentimental ideologies on their head, but the historical evidence speaks for itself. The history of the black soldier is compelling and controversial, but it can help both our understanding of race relations in the past and our commitment to heal the present. ... Read more

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A career biography of the first and only Black president ofthe Actor's Equity Association, elected in 1964, and his efforts to improve conditions and to include African Americansand other minorities in all aspects of the American theater. Contains b&w photos; an O'Neal family tree; a list of awar ... Read more

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Boys, Boyz, Boies concerns questions of ethics, gender and race in popular American images, national discourse and cultural production by and about black men. The book proposes an ethics of masculinity, as ethnics refers to a system of morality and valuation and as ethics refers to a care of the self and ethical subject formation. The texts of analysis include recent films by black/African American filmmakers, gansta rap and hip-hop and black star persona: texts ranging from Blaxploitation and New Black Cinema to contemporary music video to autobiography and the public image of Sidney Poitier. The book is a significant contribution to cultural studies and gender studies and critical race theory. What is distinctive about the book is the question of ethics as a question of race and gender. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

A most helpful perspective for all teachers
The authors enable readers to weave African American Vernacular English into standard English in such as way as to imagine that such mingling can be the basis for powerful writing by those who ordinarily use AAVE, unlike many of us who have not developed an "ear" for it.

This text is a mind-opener, and yet compelling in its presentation. ... Read more

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This is the only book currently on the market that addresses African American issues in education, special education, and related human service fields. With the increased demographics of children of color in schools and the decrease in African Americans pursuing teaching careers coupled with the social and political changes and the overrepresentation of minorities in special education and the court system, this is the book that brings and enlightening and broad perspective on student-teacher mismatches; clashes and misrepresentations of behavior, language and learning differences.This new resource describes the language of African American children, contrasts it from disordered communication, and recommends practical applications for working with African American children in the classroom. It discusses the controversial language of Ebonics and concludes that it is a separate language.All educators and speech-language pathologists, and anyone working with African American children in an educational setting. ... Read more

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Relevant!
I decided to get this book because I'm in a culturally-focused SLP program, and besides this, it's important to consider the issues that are relevant to the diagnosis and treatment among this demographic.The book contains information regarding culture, bias and educational concerns.It's been a great resource for many-a research paper, and I know that it will come in handy in my clinical practice. ... Read more

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A landmark work of art history: lavishly illustrated and extraordinary for its thoroughness, A History of African-American Artists -- conceived, researched, and written by the great American artist Romare Bearden with journalist Harry Henderson, who completed the work after Bearden's death in 1988 -- gives a conspectus of African-American art from the late eighteenth century to the present. It examines the lives and careers of more than fifty signal African-American artists, and the relation of their work to prevailing artistic, social, and political trends both in America and throughout the world.

Beginning with a radical reevaluation of the enigma of Joshua Johnston, a late eighteenth-century portrait painter widely assumed by historians to be one of the earliest known African-American artists, Bearden and Henderson go on to examine the careers of Robert S. Duncanson, Edward M. Bannister, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Aaron Douglas, Edmonia Lewis, Jacob Lawrence, Hale A. Woodruff, Augusta Savage, Charles H. Alston, Ellis Wilson, Archibald J. Motley, Jr., Horace Pippin, Alma W. Thomas, and many others.

Illustrated with more than 420 black-and-white illustrations and 61 color reproductions -- including rediscovered classics, works no longer extant, and art never before seen in this country -- A History of African-American Artists is a stunning achievement. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

very pleased
i am very pleased with amazon. not only was the product that i ordered in amazing shape for being used, but the delivery time really surprised me. i would definately order again from amazon and i would recommend it to anyone.

A Priceless Treasure
This is quite simply one of the best books I've ever read.As an avid reader, I do not make that claim lightly.What makes this book so remarkable is how Bearden and Henderson both bring the artists to life and give you a deep appreciation for their work.

No other book I've read on the arts has left me similarly breathless.While many of them have been quite competent at explaining things like "Impressionism," "The Renaissance," or "The Harlem Renaissance," none have so beautifully balanced an explanation of the artist and of the artist's work.By bringing the people to life, Bearden and Henderson have brought the art to life.They have made a priceless contribution to our understanding of African-American artists, their work and the challenges they had to overcome to pursue their passion.

This book is a must-have.It will deepen your appreciation of art and of the contributions that African-Americans have made to it.

Katrina M. Walker

nice book
i had a class in college that used this book as a text book. ienjoyed it then, but it wasn't until later that i really had a chanceto sit down and enjoy it. information is good and the pictures are plentiful. this is a very nice book for anyone interested in african american art and culture.another book that i would like to recommend is called souls grown deep: african american vernacular art of the south, volume one. i bought it at an art fair in new york in late january. i'm not sure that it has been released nationally. i've contacted amazon in an attempt to get more info. i have it so i know it is out. this type of book (souls and the history...) are too few and far between.

A great resource for teachers
This book is a great resource for teachers of American art or culture.Each chapter provides an interesting biography of the artist along with descriptions of his or her work.Students respond to the art more fully byknowing something of the struggles and daily realities faced by eachartist.A great resource for teachers or for the school library.

A Wonderfully Stunning Revelation
This outstanding potrait of little-known, but great and wonderful African American Artists should be required reading for all fine arts programs... The depth of research is evident and this work, a work of Art itself, is tobe treasured and placed within the archives of the world's great librariesand the homes of all of us who love and appreciate great art and"Great Books"!..Sylvia Rosario, President,Black SatinCollectibles - email: bmc@blacksatincollectibles.com ... Read more

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Many playwrights, authors, poets and historians have used images, metaphors and references to and from Greek tragedy, myth and epic to describe the African experience in the New World. The complex relationship between ancient Greek tragedy and modern African American theatre is primarily rooted in America, where the connection between ancient Greece and ancient Africa is explored and debated the most.

The different ways in which Greek tragedy has been used by playwrights, directors and others to represent and define African American history and identity are explored in this work. Two models are offered for an Afro-Greek connection: Black Orpheus, in which the Greek connection is metaphorical, expressing the African in terms of the European; and Black Athena, in which ancient Greek culture is "reclaimed" as part of an Afrocentric tradition.

African American adaptations of Greek tragedy on the continuum of these two models are then discussed, and plays by Peter Sellars, Adrienne Kennedy, Lee Breuer, Rita Dove, Jim Magnuson, Ernest Ferlita, Steve Carter, Silas Jones, Rhodessa Jones and Derek Walcott are analyzed. The concepts of colorblind and nontraditional casting and how such practices can shape the reception and meaning of Greek tragedy in modern American productions are also covered. ... Read more

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Taken together, Chinua Achebe's five novels--Things Fall Apart (1958), No Longer at Ease (1960), A Man of the People (1966), Arrow of God (1967), and Anthills of the Savannah (1988)--encompass the entire social, historical, and political experiences of Nigeria, from precolonial times to the close of the 20th century. Central to these experiences is the clash of Igbo culture with the ways of the West. This book analyzes Achebe's use of oratory and rhetorical devices to educate his readers about the African colonial encounter and its aftermath and to delineate his characters. By examining the relationship of rhetoric and literature in Achebe's works, this volume sheds light on his use of the novel genre to persuade. ... Read more

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African American Performance and Theater History is an anthology of critical writings that explores the intersections of race, theater, and performance in America. Assembled by two esteemed scholars in black theater, Harry J. Elam, Jr. and David Krasner, and composed of essays from acknowledged authorities in the field, this anthology is organized into four sections representative of the ways black theater, drama, and performance interact and enact continual social, cultural, and political dialogues.

Ranging from a discussion of dramatic performances of Uncle Tom's Cabin to the Black Art Movement of the 1960s and early 1970s, articles gathered in the first section, "Social Protest and the Politics of Representation," discuss the ways in which African American theater and performance have operated as social weapons and tools of protest. The second section of the volume, "Cultural Traditions, Cultural Memory and Performance," features, among other essays, Joseph Roach's chronicle of the slave performances at Congo Square in New Orleans and Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s critique of August Wilson's cultural polemics. "Intersections of Race and Gender," the third section, includes analyses of the intersections of race and gender on the minstrel stage, the plight of black female choreographers at the inception of Modern Dance, and contemporary representations of black homosexuality by PomoAfro Homo. Using theories of performance and performativity, articles in the fourth section, "African American Performativity and the Performance of Race," probe into the ways blackness and racial identity have been constructed in and through performance. The final section is a round-table assessment of the past and present state of African American Theater and Performance Studies by some of the leading senior scholars in the field--James V. Hatch, Sandra L. Richards, and Margaret B. Wilkerson.

Revealing the dynamic relationship between race and theater, this volume illustrates how the social and historical contexts of production critically affect theatrical performances of blackness and their meanings and, at the same time, how African American cultural, social, and political struggles have been profoundly affected by theatrical representations and performances. This one-volume collection is sure to become an important reference for those studying black theater and an engrossing survey for all readers of African American literature. ... Read more

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Two hundred African American murals representing the breadth of the country’s urban landscape--from New York to Los Angeles, Milwaukee to Atlanta—are gathered for the first time in this striking collection. Recounting a tradition of thirty years of mural art, from the creation in 1967 of Chicago's landmark "Wall of Respect " to the hip-hop renderings of the nineties, the book also introduces many new works--some published for the first time.

Walls of Heritage showcases the work of such renowned artists as Charles White, Aaron Douglas, Jacob Lawrence, Hale Woodruff, and John Biggers, as well as the work of extraordinary muralists such as William Walker, Calvin Jones, Mitchell Caton, and Dewey Crumpler. The book also brings the voices of the muralists to the fore, including descriptive narratives by the artists themselves. The book includes artist biographies, an extensive state-by-state listing of the murals in the United States, and informative essays by art historians Floyd Coleman, Ph.D. and Michael Harris, Ph.D.

By James Prigoff and Robin J. Dunitz. 280 pages, size: 12 x 9". 225 full-color reproductions. Casebound book, with dust jacket. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

An outstanding, lavish display
This lavish display of Afro-American wall murals gathers three decades of murals by the nation's leading artists, presenting these urban wall paintings under one cover for the first time. Over 200 paintings explore the works, history and themes of Afro-American urban wall paintings and focuses on thirty years of mural art from 1967 to modern times. Outstanding.

Justice Done to Great Art
This is a treasure.It combines first-rate photography and exemplary scholarship with the splendid production values of a publisher reknowned for sumptuous printing.It is a work that recovers and preserves a rich, scattered and often perishable art.It should inspire young artists to new efforts.

"Walls" reaffirms the power, beauty and humanity of public art-- art in libraries, schools and along neighborhood streets, art readily accessible to people as they go about their daily life. It proclaims the values of their work, their community-involvement and traditions.

"Walls" demonstrates that Afro-Americans have their own independent tradition of mural art that emerged at the same time as but separate from the modern Mexican tradition.Although later it sometimes was influenced by Diego Rivera and his colleagues, it arose during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s inspired by African sources.

The creativity of Black murals is also noteworthy for providing continuity between the New Deal murals of the 1930s and the community-based art since the 1960s.Whenart on social themes was driven from public walls during the witch-hunts of the '50s, Black murals were being painted in Black colleges across the South, and the artists who gained experience here initiated the mural movement of the '60s when Black neighborhoods organized against racism.These Black artists and their untrained community assistants thereby created a movement that professional painters and local people of all races joined which continues to this day.

The horizontal format of "Walls" is especially fortunate in doing justice to paintings that have a like layout.The introductory essays by reknowned African-American art historians, the comments of the artists themselves alongside their works, their biographies at the end and a list of murals throughout the country enhance the value of this volume.

"Walls" is a major resource of US history and art and as strong proof that there is of the contribution of African-Americans to our shared culture.

A Book for Current and Future Enjoyment
"Walls of Heritage / Walls of Pride," which I first browsed, then read, reread, and loved, has greatly added to my understanding of the background and context of African-American murals.The essays, the time chart, and the comments by the artists on their own works, in addition to the beauty of the paintings and the presentation, have added to my enthusiasm for and appreciation of this vibrant art form

In the past I have enjoyed visiting sites of public art. I now intend to carry this book with me as I travel, along with my maps and travel books, and when possible visit the murals shown in "Walls" seeing to what extent I believe the artist accomplished his goals.

I urge that you do the same, and you may come to find that your best travel time is spent outdoors viewing painted walls. And sometimes indoor walls and canvasses.

And later the book will be an impressive and useful addition to your library. ... Read more

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The African diaspora—a direct result of the transatlantic slave trade and Western colonialism—generated a wide array of artistic achievements in the past century, from blues to reggae, from the paintings of Henry Ossawa Tanner to the video installations of Keith Piper. Richard Powell's study concentrates on the works of art themselves and on how these works, created during a time of major social upheaval and transformation, use black culture as both subject and context.

From musings on the "the souls of black folk" in early twentieth-century painting, sculpture, and photography to questions of racial and cultural identities in performance, media, and computer-assisted arts in the 1990s, the book draws on the works of hundreds of artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Lois Mailou Jones, Wifredo Lam, Jacob Lawrence, Spike Lee, Archibald Motley, Jr., Faith Ringgold, and Gerard Sekoto.

This revised edition includes expanded coverage of video art and a new chapter that discusses work by a number of artists who have risen to prominence in the past five years, such as Chris Ofili, Kara Walker, and Renée Cox. Biographies of more than 170 key artists provide a unique art-historical reference.

Placing its emphasis on black cultural themes rather than on black racial identity, this groundbreaking book is an important exploration of the visual representations of black culture throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. 190 illustrations, 36 in color. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Black Art is a Wonderful World of Art


I've been checking out a lot of art books, this year...
so I thought I follow suit and get a copy of this
lovely tome. It certainly is full of interesting images,
that are awe inspiring,thought provoking and very skilled.
I've come to admire the myriad of artists that are place
in this volume and feel, sad that some of their art was
destroyed by racists in certain instances. Fortunately,
there were black and white photographs taken of their art
before such a harsh reality took it from us,like
a thief in the night.

Regardless, I only have one bone to pick with the book.
The size of the reproductions are not big enough, to
satisfy my complete pleasure of collecting. But I love
it, nevertheless. Other than that... it's a great book!
And well worth being in any collector's hands.

A WORHTY ADDITION TO YOUR ART LIBRARY
This book is a worthy addition to the libarary of anyone who is interested in the art produced by African Americans and artists of the African diaspora. The renowned art historian Richard Powell is an astute and knowledgeable scholar who is able to make the various and wide ranging works come alive. No complicated, unecessary, and verbose "art speak" here, just clear, insightful writing about a subject the author knows intimately. The illustrations are fine, and provide ample and exciting visual evidence to support the written information. You will want to have this book and others by the same author on your bookshelf. ... Read more

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This highly readable collection draws together Smitherman's ost important articles and essays, spanning a period from 972 to the present day, and includes an autobiographical iece entitled From Ghetto Lady to Critical Linguist. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Explains that English is more than just words in a dictionary
I checked this book out of a library to do a report and found a wealth of information on communication, culture, the history of English and how languages change over time. ... Read more

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The immense popularity of comics and graphic novels cannot be ignored. But in light of the comics boom that has taken place over the past 10 years, the artists, writers and publishers that make up the vibrant African American independent comics community have remained relatively unknown – until now. Black Comix brings together an unprecedented collection of largely unheard of, and undeniably masterful, comics art while also framing the work of these men and women in a broader historical and cultural context.

With a foreword by Keith Knight and over 50 contributors, including Phonzie Davis, Jan-Michael Franklin, Frances Liddell, Kenjji Marshall, Lance Tooks, Rob Stull, Ashley A. Woods and many, more, the cross section of comics genres represented includes manga, superheroes, humor, history, science fiction and fantasy. This book is a must-have for comics readers. ... Read more

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