Ethical Dilemmas, 1964 to 1982, by Nathan Glazer (TPB, 1983, $2)
How did society change after the Civil Rights Act of 1964? Read it here from the perspective of 1983.
* The Black Man's Burden: The White Man in Africa from the Fifteenth Century to WWI, by E. D. Morel (TPB, $1.50)
Writing in 1920, " Morel reviews the history of each area of Africa , and describes the methods and techniques used by Western civilization to exterminate, enslave, and exploit the black populations and their cultures during five centuries."
Long Memory, The Black Experience in America, by Mary Frances Berry (TPB, 1982, $2.50)
A mixture of memoirs, poetry, song, folklore, cartoons and other creative works that expressed ideas reflecting black attitudes.
Image of the Black in Children's Fiction, by Dorothy M. Broderick (HC, 1972, $2)
Race, the History of an Idea in America, by Thomas F. Gossett (HC, 1970, $1)
* Segregated Sabbaths: Richard Allen and the Rise of the Independent Black Churches, 1760-1840, by Carol V. George (TPB, 1973, $1.50)
As the egalitarian ideals of the Revolution faded, and the numbers of free blacks increased, white politicians and community leaders began to restrict the actions of blacks, so Richard Allen and other free blacks started to form their own independent religious societies. This is the story of the birth of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1815. The birth was not an easy one, as white Methodists were, to say the least, not happy with this new development.. This is the start of black theology and its urban social focus. As always, from conflict comes growth, but always at a price.
Read these books and ponder. You can find them in the African American section (which if you are interested, is particularly full these days).
(* means I think these books are special. Come, read them and make up your own mind.)
