Category Archives: African American literature

Fantasy

Posted on July 2, 2015 by admin

If I am not who you say I am then you are not who you think you are. Whenever observance for July 4th approaches, historical reflection is appropriate. This year, 2015, has been a time when chickens came home to … Continue reading →

Posted in African American History, African American literature, American legal system, American politics, ancestors, captured Africans, descendants of slaves, Slave economy, slavery, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Fantasy

Source Documents for Blog Posts (May-August, 2012)

Posted on September 23, 2012 by admin

Text: A Forgotten History: The Slave Trade and Slavery in New England, Choices for the 21st Century Education Program, Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University, (2008). This work provides an overview of enslavement and the human trade of Africans … Continue reading →

Posted in African American History, African American literature, African Diaspora, American legal system, American politics, descendants of slaves, slavery, transatlantic slave trade | Comments Off on Source Documents for Blog Posts (May-August, 2012)

Haiti: The First Black Republic in the Western Hemisphere

Posted on July 5, 2012 by admin

This small and beautiful nation is a text book case of the victim being blamed for the crimes/injustices perpetuated against it. The historic role of the United States in the deliberate destruction of this country is not completely known. Since … Continue reading →

Posted in African American History, African American literature, African Diaspora, African ethnic groups, Afro-Caribbeans, Afro-Latinos, American politics, ancestors, slave ports, slavery | Comments Off on Haiti: The First Black Republic in the Western Hemisphere

An Elder: Vincent Harding

Posted on May 23, 2012 by admin

The formal public inauguration of The Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project in Baltimore, Maryland is quickly approaching.  As we come close to that first commemorative event in August, we want our readers and supporters to become acquainted with … Continue reading →

Posted in African American History, African American literature, African Diaspora, American politics, ancestors, captured Africans, descendants of slaves, Middle Passage, slavery, transatlantic slave trade | Comments Off on An Elder: Vincent Harding

Source Documents for Blog Posts (February – April, 2012)

Posted on May 15, 2012 by admin

Audio/Visual: “First Time I Saw Big Water” Composed and produced by Bernice Johnson Reagon, performed by Bernice Johnson Reagon and Toshi Reagon for the PBS-WGBH film series Africans in America, Executive Producer, Orlando Bagwell “Betye Saar, National Visionary”: National Visionary … Continue reading →

Posted in African American History, African American literature, African Diaspora, Afro-Caribbeans, Afro-Latinos, American legal system, American politics, ancestors, captured Africans, descendants of slaves, ethnic studies, Middle Passage, slave ships, slavery, transatlantic slave trade | Comments Off on Source Documents for Blog Posts (February – April, 2012)

Keorapetse Kgositsile and Brenda Marie Osbey at Brown University, April 2011

Posted on May 4, 2012 by admin

This spring two premier poets, one from South Africa and one from the United States, exemplified the connection through word art of the Continent and the Americas. We were fortunate enough to obtain Charles Cobb’s introduction of them to the … Continue reading →

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On the State of the Nation

Posted on April 27, 2012 by admin

Aime Cesaire, the great Martiniquan poet and statesman, said of the French Surrealist Movement after he discontinued his membership with the organization, “I cannot serve a system that cannot and will not serve me.” Inspired by Langston Hughes, Claude McKay … Continue reading →

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Developing a National and Global Identity

Posted on April 22, 2012 by admin

The previous post, Imagine: From the Black Atlantic to a New World Order, triggered an idea which we would like to continue to explore. First, what image comes to mind when you are asked to envision or describe a person … Continue reading →

Posted in African American History, African American literature, African Diaspora, Afro-Latinos, Central America, descendants of slaves, ethnic studies, Mexican Americans, Mexico, slavery | Comments Off on Developing a National and Global Identity

Science/ Fiction?

Posted on April 11, 2012 by admin

Many people state that they do not like to read science fiction, that it is a genre with no appeal. There also is the cliché that life imitates art, and vice versa. How closely now does this society resemble the … Continue reading →

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It’s Like Having No Navel

Posted on March 30, 2012 by admin

In Toni Morrison’s novel Song of Solomon, one character, Milkman’s aunt Pilate, is described as having no navel, no evidence of connection with a progenitor, no root. That was always an unimaginable, impossible image. It grates against all that we … Continue reading →

Posted in African American History, African American literature, African Diaspora, ancestors, descendants of slaves, oral history, slavery, transatlantic slave trade | Comments Off on It’s Like Having No Navel