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A1 |
New release
Slavery by Another Name The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II Douglas A. Blackmon  http://www.citylights.com/book/?GCOI=87286100265210 In this groundbreaking historical exposé, Douglas A. Blackmon brings to light one of the most shameful chapters in American history—an “Age of Neoslavery†that thrived from the aftermath of the Civil War through the dawn of World War II. Under laws enacted specifically to intimidate blacks, tens of thousands of African Americans were arbitrarily arrested, hit with outrageous fines, and charged for the costs of their own arrests. With no means to pay these ostensible “debts,†prisoners were sold as forced laborers to coal mines, lumber camps, brickyards, railroads, quarries, and farm plantations. Thousands of other African Americans were simply seized by southern landowners and compelled into years of involuntary servitude. Government officials leased falsely imprisoned blacks to small-town entrepreneurs, provincial farmers, and dozens of corporations—including U.S. Steel—looking for cheap and abundant labor. Armies of “free†black men labored without compensation, were repeatedly bought and sold, and were forced through beatings and physical torture to do the bidding of white masters for decades after the official abolition of American slavery. The neoslavery system exploited legal loopholes and federal policies that discouraged prosecution of whites for continuing to hold black workers against their wills. As it poured millions of dollars into southern government treasuries, the new slavery also became a key instrument in the terrorization of African Americans seeking full participation in the U.S. political system. Based on a vast record of original documents and personal narratives, Slavery by Another Name unearths the lost stories of slaves and their descendants who journeyed into freedom after the Emancipation Proclamation and then back into the shadow of involuntary servitude. It also reveals the stories of those who fought unsuccessfully against the re-emergence of human labor trafficking, the modern companies that profited most from neoslavery, and the system’s final demise in the 1940s, partly due to fears of enemy propaganda about American racial abuse at the beginning of World War II. Slavery by Another Name is a moving, sobering account of a little-known crime against African Americans, and the insidious legacy of racism that reverberates today. Publisher Doubleday ISBN-10 0385506252 ISBN-13 9780385506250 Publication Date 2008 List Price $29.95 |
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Word From The Mother: Language and African Americans
Word from the Mother presents a definitive statement on African American English from the hugely respected linguist, Geneva Smitherman; and her message is clear: black American speech enriches, rather than undermines, general American English. Written with flashes of African American language throughout, the work gives an overview of past debates on the speech of African Americans, and provides a vision for the future. Demonstrating the stark contrast between the perceptions of the language from those outside the community, with the views of African Americans, the author explores the relationship between language and race, and the reflection of gender in language practices. From her discussion on rhyme and rhetoric in the black speech community, to the summary of African American idioms and expressions, Geneva Smitherman argues that 'bilingualism' is necessary for all Americans if they are to take their place in the global village. Including cartoons, poetry and hip hop lyrics which humorously illustrate her argument, Word from the Mother is a an essential read for students of African American English, language and culture and sociolinguistics, as well as the general reader interested in the worldwide adoption of black popular culture. About the Author Geneva Smitherman is University Distinguished Professor of English at Michigan State University and has been writing and commentating on the social, cultural, educational and political issues surrounding African American English since the 70s. She is also a committed activist at the forefront of the struggle for language rights and regularly visits South Africa to advise on language policy. Her unique writing style has been widely celebrated for efficacy in making the medium the message. Paperback: 172 pages Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (April 19, 2006) Language: English ISBN-10: 0415358760 ISBN-13: 978-0415358767 |
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I'm gonna have to get this one.
 Egungun, Egungun ni t'aiye ati jo! Ancestos, Ancestors come to earth and dance! "I'm sick of the war and the civilization that created it. Let's look to our dreams, and the magical; to the creations of the so-called primitive peoples for new inspirations." - Jaques Vache and Andre Breton "Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone." -John Maynard "You know that in our country there were even matriarchal societies where women were the most important element. On the Bijagos islands they had queens. They were not queens because they were the daughters of kings. They had queens succeeding queens. The religious leaders were women too..." -- Amilcar Cabral, Return to the Source, 1973    |
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These are great suggestions Raptor! While reading the first book, when it went into the numerical records of enslaved Africans that were taken every year into the different Caribbean islands(tens of thousands per island per year), and showed how the population either stayed the same every year for most of the islands, or actually fell... I just broke down crying. All that life lost each year, worked to death in the cane fields... absolutely disgusting.
I'm gonna have to check this one out. Egungun, Egungun ni t'aiye ati jo! Ancestos, Ancestors come to earth and dance! "I'm sick of the war and the civilization that created it. Let's look to our dreams, and the magical; to the creations of the so-called primitive peoples for new inspirations." - Jaques Vache and Andre Breton "Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone." -John Maynard "You know that in our country there were even matriarchal societies where women were the most important element. On the Bijagos islands they had queens. They were not queens because they were the daughters of kings. They had queens succeeding queens. The religious leaders were women too..." -- Amilcar Cabral, Return to the Source, 1973 |
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Randall Robinson is a deep dude. This is the second book I have that he has written. Eventually, I'm gonna get all his works. >>><<<<>>>><<<<>>>><< "Study the people who took you out of history. Then you'll understand -your history." "For your survival, draw on the intellectual heritage of the whole world, but always start with your own intellectual heitage". --Dr. John Henrik Clarke "Revenge knows few limits when the privileged and powerful are subjected to the kind of terror they regularly mete out to their victims." --Noam Chomsky "Sure there are a few good whites just as much as there are a few bad Blacks. However what we are concerned here with is group attitudes and group politics. The exception does not make a lie or the rule - it merely substantiates it." --Steve Biko |
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A2 |
At some point I want to read James's book. Thanks for the Robinson heads up too, Raptor. After seeing it I searched around for a podcast (I'm a podcast junkie) and downloaded his interview on Democracy Now.  And as for your post about the lynching book.... Those pictures get to me. Those no-snitchin' bastids. *********************************** “It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.†-- James Baldwin |
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New 2008 Re-release from Penguin books....
 And the cover features a reproduction of one of Romare Bearden's beautiful collage/artworks. And if you don't know who Romare is... then do your research!The Portable Charles W. Chesnutt Author: Charles W. Chesnutt Publisher: Penguin Classics ISBN-13: 9780143105343 Publication Year: 2008 Collections from one of our most influential African American writers, under the general editorship of Henry Louis Gates, Jr. An icon of nineteenth-century American fiction, Charles W. Chesnutt - an incisive storyteller of the aftermath of slavery in the South is widely credited with almost single-handedly inaugurating the African American short story tradition and was the first African American novelist to achieve national critical acclaim. This major addition to Penguin Classics features an ideal sampling of his work: twelve short stories (including conjure tales and protest fiction), three essays, and the novel "The Marrow of Tradition," Published here for the 150th anniversary of Chesnutt’s birth, "The Portable Charles W. Chesnutt" will bring to a new audience the genius of a man whose legacy underlies key trends in modern black fiction.
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 Book celebrates Haitian success stories A Broward publisher's book on the Haitian diaspora aims to capture the community's varied contributions. When Broward publisher Féquière Vilsaint set out to produce his newest title, he wanted a book that offered Haitian youth hope and inspiration. Indeed, Who is Who in Haitian Diaspora is expected to fulfill that goal but, with a title like that, it's bound to make some high-achievers not mentioned in the book feel a little left out. ''An entry . . . carries a certain congratulatory aspect and prestige,'' notes the introduction. As one might expect, the Haitian diaspora's equivalent of a Social Register has pages of highfalutin doctors, attorneys, academics, and entrepreneurs from Miami, New York, and beyond. Hip-hop sensation Wyclef Jean is among the high-profile entries, as is Michaelle Jean, the governor general of Canada. The book even includes one of the diaspora's newer members, the ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, now living in exile in South Africa. ''They should have accomplished something that grabbed our attention or sparked our imagination,'' Vilsaint said Thursday about his choices while going over the book at his Pompano Beach warehouse just east of the Turnpike. Vilsaint, the owner of Educa Vision, said an entry was based on the individual's standing in public life, professional achievement, artistic output and social involvement. The co-author is wife Maude Heurtelou (they both have entries). The hardback book goes for $34.50. The status-obsessed among the Haitian elite will surely approach this new book with trepidation. For all the entrants, the 251-page book includes the contributions of lesser-known personalities -- the kind of people whose hard work and varied interests may escape the public eye. They include music composers, a chef, a marathon runner, a comedian, an award-winning bodybuilder, and even an urban planner in Canada's Arctic region. The urban planner, for the record, is Michèle Bertol, and the Port-au-Prince native is the director of planning and lands for the City of Iqaluit in Arctic Canada. ''She's doing something original,'' Vilsaint said. Read the rest: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/haiti/story/576879.html |
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 HOLDING MEN ~ Kanyirninpa and the health of Aboriginal men Brian F McCoy Availability: Print 'Brian McCoy is to be congratulated for his thoughtful and illuminating exploration of the ways in which Western Desert men themselves understand and engage with health and well-being. I read this book with great interest for its ethnographic sensitivity and depth of engagement.' Fred Myers, Silver Professor of Anthropology, New York University 'It is rare for an academic work to so sensitively and poignantly capture the social realities for Aboriginal men growing up in contemporary desert communities.' Ian Anderson, Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health 'This is a very important, unique scholarly work. It adds much to our limited understanding of the social determinants Aboriginal men’s health.' Dr Graham Henderson, Visiting Research Fellow, AIATSIS THIS IS an easily readable book that explores how Indigenous men understand their lives, their health and their culture. Using conversations, stories and art, the author shows how Kimberley desert communities have a cultural value and relationship described as kanyirninpa or holding. The author uses examples from Australian Rules football, petrol sniffing and imprisonment to reveal the possibilities for lasting improvements to men’s health based on kanyirninpa’s expression of deep and enduring cultural values and relationships. While young Indigenous men’s lives remains vulnerable in a rapidly changing world, the author believes that an understanding of kanyirninpa (one of the key values that has sustained Aboriginal desert life for centuries) may provide the hope of change and better health for all. It also offers insights for all who wish to ‘grow up’ their young people. Brian McCoy is an ordained Jesuit priest who has spent nearly four decades living and working in Indigenous communities in Australia and overseas. He has been priest, football coach, health researcher, ambulance officer, detention centre chaplain and adult educator and was a Research Officer in the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. Previously published Living and Working Cross-Culturally (1992), currently being republished, with Pat Dodson. |
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The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
 People have interpreted this children's book in so many ways, e.g. that the tree represents parenthood, or unconditional love. The boy only takes and never gives back, never says "Thank you" even.  I think it's a lesson about empathy, or the lack of. If you have never read the book here's a link to an animated video.
*********************************** “It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.†-- James Baldwin |
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Apparently, this book has left an indelible mark on some people.
     *********************************** “It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.†-- James Baldwin |
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A2 |
I finally did it.
I read a Harry Potter book. Now I can "honestly" say it wasn't worth reading. It was the same book as the movie I saw on cable years ago, The Sorcerer's Stone. I might have liked it when I was 8 years old.I don't think I could get hooked on HP like I did sci-fi. I found a torrent containing 7 HP books and down loaded it. I wouldn't buy an HP book. I wouldn't suggest them for kids to read either. I found a couple of movies on the net too and watched them. More of the same. H. Beam Piper audio books are better. http://www.podiobooks.com/title/time-crime um |
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9b0What a Mighty Power We Can Be
African American Fraternal Groups and the Struggle for Racial Equality[/b] Theda Skocpol, Ariane Liazos, & Marshall Ganz To read the entire book description or a sample chapter, please visit: http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8267.html From the nineteenth through the mid-twentieth centuries, millions of American men and women participated in fraternal associations - self-selecting brotherhoods and sisterhoods that provided aid to members, enacted group rituals, and engaged in community service. Even more than whites did, African Americans embraced this type of association; indeed, fraternal lodges rivaled churches as centers of black community life in cities, towns, and rural areas alike. Using an unprecedented variety of secondary and primary sources - including old documents, pictures, and ribbon-badges found in eBay auctions--this book tells the story of the most visible African American fraternal associations. "Heavily researched and illuminating throughout, this unique study is not necessarily a book for the masses, but for those, mostly in academia, interested in examining a little-considered dimension in the complex history of the civil rights movement, and our civil society as a whole."--Publishers Weekly Paper | $22.95 / £13.50 | ISBN: 978-0-691-13836-7 Cloth | $27.95 / £16.95 | ISBN: 978-0-691-12299-1 Princeton University Press 41 William Street Princeton, New Jersey U.S.A. 08540 press.princeton.edu logo |
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how come you suddenly have so much free time?  '...all of us who care about the truth must assist you in finding the resources to tell it.' Ken Burns, Documentary Filmmaker. |
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The American Way of Death Revisted.
 Yes, the subject is a grim one, but this book was so informative and shows how the funeral industry will take advantage of families when they are at their most vulnerable--mourning the loss of a loved one. Did you know that embalming is not required by law? (At least not as of this 1997 revision.) Its main purpose is to make the corpse look good. But, embalming can only go but so far because anaerobic bacteria thrives in an airtight coffin and the body becomes covered with mold. Anaerobic bacteria also creates a build up of methane gas which can cause a casket to explode. But, of course the funeral industry has come up with a way to avoid this mess. It's called a "burping" casket. A "permeable" seal allows accumulated gases to leak/burp out. Embalming is said to be a "necessary public health measure." It was feared that if a person died of a communicable disease, that the seepage from graves would contaminate the water supply. But, organisms which cause disease "cannot all be killed by the embalming process." A city's infrastructure, i.e. engineering and sanitation is the solution to any threat of contamination. So, unless a body has to be transported (or, like "Mrs. S" who wanted to be sure she was dead before she was cremated, so she requested to be embalmed) the process is not necessary. But, it's big business, so funeral directors do it as a matter of course. What's interesting is that over a hundred years ago, families handled funeral arrangements without the help of undertakers/funeral directors. The industry has become a corporation. Smaller funeral homes have been purchased and absorbed into larger ones. And the primary goal appears to be to maximize profits. I'm really not doing the book justice, so I highly recommend reading it. If you find the topic interesting, but don't have the time to read up on it, I also recommend the following podcast: The Funeral Industry and Grave Choices. It too is very informative. The description of the embalming process is a little graphic, but well worth the listen. *********************************** “It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.†-- James Baldwin |
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Interesting. Having just recently lost my father, I was disgusted and disturbed with the entire 'profit maximizing' thing... I knew how it worked, but when they were persistant in trying to exploit our grief by trying to repeatedly suggest going beyond what requested(and what my father wanted), my mother and I almost lost it a few times...
Egungun, Egungun ni t'aiye ati jo! Ancestos, Ancestors come to earth and dance! "I'm sick of the war and the civilization that created it. Let's look to our dreams, and the magical; to the creations of the so-called primitive peoples for new inspirations." - Jaques Vache and Andre Breton "Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone." -John Maynard "You know that in our country there were even matriarchal societies where women were the most important element. On the Bijagos islands they had queens. They were not queens because they were the daughters of kings. They had queens succeeding queens. The religious leaders were women too..." -- Amilcar Cabral, Return to the Source, 1973 |
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Tasmanian Angel |
My siblings and I had the same reaction when my Mom passed away, OA. My Dad kind of took it in stride 'cause I guess he knew the game already.  But, my Mom was a simple woman and abhorred any over-the-top extravagance. I thought for a minute we were going to have to bury her ourselves, 'cause the funeral director seemed not to want to take "no" for an answer!  BLACK by NATURE, PROUD by CHOICE. Before there was ANY history, there was BLACK history. |
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I'm sorry to hear about your loss Oshun Auset. It was, recently, a year's anniversary of my mum's passing. Still seems vaguely surreal. I wish you Peace and strength. '...all of us who care about the truth must assist you in finding the resources to tell it.' Ken Burns, Documentary Filmmaker. |
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