African American Studies

More than 4,000 articles cover prominent individuals, events, trends, places, political movements, art forms, business and trade, religion, ethnic groups, organizations and countries on both sides of the Atlantic. African American history and culture in the present-day United States receive a strong emphasis, but African American history and culture throughout the rest of the Americas and their origins in African itself have an equally strong presence

In African American Pioneers of Sociology, Pierre Saint-Arnaud examines the lasting contributions that African Americans have made to the field of sociology. Arguing that science is anything but a neutral construct, he defends the radical stances taken by early African American sociologists from accusations of intellectual infirmity by foregrounding the racist historical context of the time these influential works were produced.

Unlike the Civil Rights Movement's emphasis on the rhetoric and practice of nonviolence and social and political goal of integration, Black Power was defined by the promotion of Black self-determination, Black consciousness, independent Black politics, and the practice of armed self-defense. Black Power changed communities, curriculums, and culture in the United States and served as an inspiration for social justice internationally. This two-volume set provides readers with an understanding of Black Power's important role in the turbulence, social change, and politics of the 1960s and 1970s in America and how the concepts of the movement continue to influence contemporary Black politics, culture, and identity.

Black business activity has been sustained in America for almost four centuries. From the marketing and trading activities of African slaves in Colonial America to the rise of 20th-century black corporate America, African American participation in self-employed economic activities has been a persistent theme in the black experience. Yet, unlike other topics in African American history, the study of black business has been limited.

This entries provide a comprehensive overview of educational institutions at every level, from preschool through graduate and professional training, with special attention to historically and predominantly Black colleges and universities. The encyclopedia follows the struggle of African Americans to achieve equality in education-beginning among an enslaved population and evolving into the present-as the efforts of many remarkable individuals furthered this cause through court decisions and legislation.

A full range of the African American experience during that period-from the arrival of the firstslave 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.

This encyclopedia traces the transition from the Reconstruction Era to the age of Jim Crow, the Harlem Renaissance, the Great Migration, the Brownruling that overturned Plessy, the Civil Rights Movement, and the ascendant influence of African American culture on the American cultural landscape.

This encyclopedia traces black history from Africa, through the Atlantic slave trade, into the colonial period, the Civil War, and Reconstruction, right up to a detailed analysis of the Civil Rights movement. Specialized discussions include various aspects of slavery: its relationship to the framing of the Constitution, its appearance on the frontier, emancipation, slave narratives, and the legal history of slavery in eight states. Other topics covered in detail are black folklore, poetry, literature, dance, music, sculpture, painting, athletics, education, religion, and the sciences.

The Encyclopedia of Black Comics, focuses on people of African descent who have published significant works in the United States or have worked across various aspects of the comics industry. The book focuses on creators in the field of comics: inkers, illustrators, artists, writers, editors, Black comic historians, Black comic convention creators, website creators, archivists and academics across Black comic culture.

Examines the anthropological, sociological, historical, economic, and scientific theories of race and racism in the modem era. Delves into the historic origins of ideas of race and racism and explores their social and scientific consequences. Includes biographies of theorists, as well as political and social leaders and notorious racists.

The Black Arts Movement (BAM) encompassed a group of artists, musicians, novelists, and playwrights whose work combined innovative approaches to literature, film, music, visual arts, and theatre. With a heightened consciousness of black agency and autonomy--along with the radical politics of the civil rights movement, the Black Muslims, and the Black Panthers--these figures represented a collective effort to defy the status quo of American life and culture.

African American culture draws upon a rich body of traditions from Africa, Latin America, and the South, and folklore is fundamental to the African American heritage. The first work of its kind, this encyclopedia overviews African American folklore and Includes roughly 700 alphabetically arranged entries by more than 100 expert contributors on such topics as folktales, music, art, foodways, spiritual beliefs, proverbs, and many other subjects.

Black music is the beat the world dances to - the sound of soul, funk, reggae, rhythm and blues, disco, and jazz-funk. This book is the first comprehensive encyclopedia ever published on black music. It includes extensive biographies on hundreds of black music personalities - from superstars to one-hit wonders. Here are all the singers, songwriters, bands, producers, and record companies that have made black music a worldwide success. This book includes more 650 alphabetically listed entries, arranged by decade. Each entry presents a career history and discography of the star. This is the definitive source book on black music.

This set covers 125 iconic primary documents from the 1600s to the present. Each entry offers the full text of the document as well as an in-depth, analytical essay that places the document in its historical context. Among the sources included in the set are important legislative documents such as the Reconstruction era amendments; critical Supreme Court decisions; and iconic speeches and writings by leaders such as Sojourner Truth, Booker T. Washington, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Barack Obama.