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African American history has been shaped by activists spanning literature, sports, and entertainment; individuals who faced significant obstacles in their commitment to the advancement of the black community.
Bloomsbury Collections celebrates Black History Month with a look at key figures who changed history by holding bravely and steadfastly to their beliefs, influencing the course of the nation’s journey towards equality. Scroll further to discover insights into the lives of Booker T. Washington, Maya Angelou, Barack Obama, and more.
The beginning of the 20th century marked a new chapter in the battle for American civil rights, and many of the era’s most important African American writers were also acutely aware of the role environmental justice played in the struggle. Civil Rights and the Environment in African-American Literature, 1895–1941 is the first book to explore the centrality of environmental problems in writing from the civil rights movement during the early decades of the century.
Read this sample chapter, which examines the works of educator, author, and community leader Booker T. Washington, particularly relating to his thoughts on the politics of ecology.
Examining the contributions of black women intellectuals in modern U.S. history illuminates their important roles in American society and culture. Bury My Heart in a Free Land: Black Women Intellectuals in Modern U.S. History traces the development of black women’s voices from the late 19th century to the present day, illustrating the passion and clarity of thought black women intellectuals contributed to various arenas in American life.
Read this sample chapter, in which author Marsha J. Tyson Darling explores the contributions of Ida B. Wells within the context of African American history, considering how her works influenced public opinion.
Barack Obama’s politics are deeply informed by his profound knowledge and understanding of his country’s history. His articles, books, and speeches are replete with references to America’s past and how that relates to the present he sees and the future he envisions. In Barack Obama: American Historian, author Steven Sarson analyzes Obama’s own words to reveal the former president’s interpretation of American history from colonial times to the present, and how that knowledge and awareness illuminates his time in the White House.
In this provided chapter, Sarson examines two speeches in which Obama draws from the nation’s post-slavery Reconstructionist era to speak about equality in our modern context.
During her lifetime, Maya Angelou was a poet, traveler, performer, and activist, experiences she included in her autobiographic works. In Maya Angelou: Adventurous Spirit, Linda Wagner-Martin explores Angelou’s writings to illustrate not only her experience as an African-American in the United States, but reveal her career as stage and film performer, her thoughtful participation in the Civil Rights actions of the 1960s, and her travels abroad in Egypt, Africa, and Europe.
Read this chapter in which Wagner-Martin examines Angelou’s first memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1970), revealing the life behind one of literature’s most memorable coming-of-age stories about overcoming racism and trauma.
Assertions of individual freedom must often be reinforced with courage. In Faith and Struggle in the Lives of Four African Americans, Randal Maurice Jelks explores the struggles of four key figures in African American history, drawing from autobiographical writings, interviews, speeches, letters, and memorable performances to understand how each individual used religious faith publicly to reconcile deep personal struggles.
In this excerpt, Jelk presents a close look at famed boxer Muhammad Ali, who revealed his decision in 1964 to join the Nation of Islam: “I know where I’m going and I know the truth and I don’t have to be what you want me to be. I’m free to be what I want to be.”
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