Selected New Materials: July 2007
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Africa: A Guide to Reference Material. John McIlwaine. Africana Library: Z3501.M3 2007
First published in 1993, this is a new revised and substantially expanded edition of a classic African studies reference work that evaluates the leading sources of information (other than bibliographies) on Africa South of the Sahara. This new second edition contains 3,600 for the most part annotated entries, covering encyclopedias, dictionaries, directories, handbooks, atlases and gazetteers, almanacs, yearbooks, topographic reference sources, directories of organizations, as well as biographical and statistical sources. (Bowker’s Books in Print)
Africa in Russia, Russia in Africa: Three Centuries of Encounters. Maxim Matusevich. Africana Library: DT38.9 .S65 A344 2007
This book presents an interdisciplinary look at the complex nature of historical, political, and cultural ties between Africa and Russia. A diverse group of accomplished historians, sociologists, political scientists, and journalists have contributed essays that reveal and explain a variety of "invisible links" tying together the seemingly incongruent cultural and historical traditions of Africa and Russia. From African presence in early imperial Russia to the Soviet adventures in colonial and post-colonial Africa to the role and predicament of African Russians in the post-Soviet society, this volume stakes out a vast emerging field for further scholarly research and interpretation. (Bowker’s Books in Print)
Amy Ashwood Garvey: Pan-Africanist, Feminist and Mrs. Marcus Garvey No.1 or, A Tale of Two Amies. Tony Martin. Africana Library: E185.97 .G37 M37 2007
For Dr. Tony Martin, lecturer at Wellesley College, Massachusetts, Liberty Hall at 76 King Street, Kingston, is the perfect place to present Amy Ashwood Garvey, Pan-Africanist, Feminist and Mrs. Marcus Garvey No. 1, Or, A Tale of Two Amies to the public. It is not only that the Liberty Halls worldwide were at the heart of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), founded by Marcus Garvey, but this particular location was at the centre of a coup of sorts by his first wife, Amy Ashwood Garvey. And it is there that Martin will present her story tomorrow, at 6:00 p.m., three days before the 38th anniversary of her death. "She had a sort of coup in the UNIA," Martin said of Amy Ashwood Garvey. This was when she was in Jamaica between 1939 and 1944, a period when Mrs. Marcus Garvey No. 2, Amy Jacques Garvey, was also in Jamaica." (www.jamaica-gleaner.com)
The Battle for Welfare Rights: Politics and Poverty in Modern America. Felicia Kornbluh. Africana Library: HV 91.K65 2007
The Battle for Welfare Rights chronicles an American war on poverty fought first and foremost by poor people themselves. It tells the fascinating story of the National Welfare Rights Organization, the largest membership organization of low-income people in U.S. history. Setting that story in the context of its turbulent times, the 1960s and early 1970s, historian Felicia Kornbluh shows how closely tied that story was to changes in mainstream politics, both nationally and locally in New York City.The Battle for Welfare Rights offers new insight into women's activism, poverty policy, civil rights, urban politics, law, consumerism, social work, and the rise of modern conservatism. It tells, for the first time, the complete story of a movement that profoundly affected the meaning of citizenship and the social contract in the United States. (Amazon.ca)
Becoming President: Patterns of Professional Mobility of African American University Presidents. Jyotsna Mishra, Africana Library: LB2341 .M58 2007
This book is intended to offer a small contribution to the growing literature on patterns of professional mobility of African American college and university presidents in United States. One major purpose is to help both higher education stakeholders and community leaders to envision the career patterns of these educators in their rise to the presidency. (Book Cover)
Before the Legend the Rise of Bob Marley. Christopher John Farley. ML420 .M3313 F37, 2007
The acclaimed and legendary Bob Marley was a musical prophet, famous for popularizing reggae music throughout the world. Before the Legend: The Rise of Bob Marley finally looks beyond the myths to reveal the private side of a man few people ever really knew. Drawing on original interviews with those closest to Marley, Before the Legend paints a unique portrait of one of the most enduring musical artists of our time. Christopher John Farley tells the definitive story of Bob Marley, from his birth in the small Jamaican town of Nine Miles to his early days as a struggling artist to the making of his debut album, Catch a Fire. We see Marley as never before: in music, in love, in life, and finally in gaining worldwide acceptance and adoration. (Bowker’s Books in Print)
Black Culture and Black Consciousness: Afro-American folk thought from slavery to freedom. Lawrence W. Levine. Africana Library: GR 103 .L48, 2007
When Black Culture and Black Consciousness first appeared thirty years ago, it marked a revolution in our understanding of African American history. Contrary to prevailing ideas at the time, which held that African culture disappeared quickly under slavery and that black Americans had little group pride, history, or cohesiveness, Levine uncovered a cultural treasure trove, illuminating a rich and complex African American oral tradition, including songs, proverbs, jokes, folktales, and long narrative poems called toasts--work that dated from before and after emancipation. The fact that these ideas and sources seem so commonplace now is in large part due to this book and the scholarship that followed in its wake. A landmark work that was part of the "cultural turn" in American history, Black Culture and Black Consciousness profoundly influenced an entire generation of historians and continues to be read and taught. (Bowker’s Books in Print)
Breaking Stone Silence: Giving Voice to Aids Prevention in Africa. Paul E. Terry. Africana Library: RA643.86 .Z55 T47 2006
Written to be accessible to both students and lay readers concerned about AIDS in Africa from a world citizen's perspective, this text challenges its audience to place the global AIDS crisis in the context of the learning needs, hopes, privileges and responsibilities of those in the Western world. (Bowker’s Books in Print)
The Door of No Return: The History of Cape Coast Castle and the Atlantic Slave Trade. William St Clair. Africana Library: HT1394 .G48 S73 2007
The grim history of the slave trade from Africa is one that has had an impact on generations of people all over the world. While much of the initial voyage and inhumane treatment of slavery has been historically analyzed, there has been little written on the several forts and castles along the coast of Ghana that were used as slave holding facilities. This book focuses primarily on Cape Coast Castle, the African headquarters of the British slave trade from 1664 to 1807, through which countless men, women, and children were sold as slaves and carried away on slave ships, often to North America. It tells the story of the people who lived, worked, or were imprisoned within its walls, as well as the construction and upkeep of the building, the arrivals and departures of ships, the negotiations with local African leaders, and the deadly diseases inside. The Door of No Return dwells on the details that provide the Castle's bizarre and haunting resonance. It was the site of insane brutality and of foul diseases, yet it was also a place of elegance and refinement—and the source of many ignoble fortunes. It attracted the licentious, the cruel, the greedy and the luckless, and installed them in a fortress above the ocean. (Bowker’s Books in Print)
The Educational Philosophy of Elijah Muhammad: Education for a New World. Abul Pitre. Africana Library: LC2731 .P58 2007
This book reflects the many challenges America’s educational system continue to face even within this new millennium. Among those challenges are problems and issues associated with the education of the youth in a multicultural society and in particular issues about how to best educate African American students. (Book Cover)
Living Black History: How Re-imagining the African-American Past Can remake America’s Racial Future. Manning Marable. Africana Library: E184.64 .M37 2006
Essays examine the challenges faced by African Americans in preserving and shaping African-American history, exposing the myth and conflict surrounding such figures as Malcolm X, W.E.B. Dubois, and Booker T. Washington. (http://books.google.com)
Living On A Horizon: Beside Head and the Politics of Imagining. Desiree Lewis. Africana Library: PR9369.3 .H4 Z76 2007
Bessie Head's writing illustrates a rich fusion of styles, subjects and philosophical and literary influences. Living on a Horizon explores this range by drawing on both postcolonial and feminist theories - and on the variety of cultural references that Head herself acknowledges. (Bowker’s Books in Print)
Race or Ethnicity? On Black and Latino Identity. Jorge J.E. Gracia. Africana Library: E185.625 .R23 2007
What is race? What is ethnicity? Should we think of them as identities? Can they be effectively individuated? How are they related? How do the relations between them influence pressing issues concerned with social identity, gender, racism, assimilation
This collection of essays explores the relation between race and ethnicity and its social and political implications. Although much work has been done on the philosophy of race in the past century in the US, the concept of ethnicity has only recently awoken the interest of American philosophers. (Bowker’s Books in Print)
Snap Judgments: New Positions in Contemporary African Photography.
Okwui Enwezor. Africana Library: TR 646 .A35 E58 2006
Photographers have taken a leading role in the development of contemporary African art. Art historian Enwezor is a major voice promoting the appreciation of their work and the curator of the exhibition for which this book is the catalog. He provides a series of essays - one by art historian Colin Richard - discussing a wide range of issues relating to the history of photography in Africa and various contemporary trends exemplified by the works in the exhibition. (Bowker’s Books in Print)
The Sin of Racism: How to be Set Free. Selena Johnson. Africana Library: BT 734.2 .J64 2006
What is racism? How and why did it happen? How can we be rid of racism? The Sin of Racism is a personal, spiritual, and historical journey into the roots of racism. This book reviews some of the historical milestones related to racism such as, the slave trade, American slavery, pseudo-scientific racism, and today's cultural divide, through a Christian evangelical lens. Intended as a spiritual guide, this book not only helps individuals understand the roots of the sin of racism, but also helps them learn to overcome it. (Bowker’s Books in Print)
Understanding the Crisis in Darfur: Listening to Sudanese Voices. Abdel Ghaffar M. Ahmed and Leif Manger. Africana Library: DT 159.6 .D27 U53 2006
The major context of this book is the conflict in Darfur. The humanitarian disaster unleashed by the conflict has led to the displacement of over a million people. The escalation of the crisis has attracted the attention of the international community and the international media. The conflict has led to allegations of acts of genocide in Darfur and the dispatch of UN/AU observers following the issuance of a UN Security Council resolution on the conflict in Darfur. Several heads of state and government have voiced their serious concern about the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. For the first time, two US Secretaries of State and a couple of other leaders have visited the area. The African Union has also dispatched a force of peacekeepers to the area. These international interventions and the recent signing of a comprehensive peace agreement between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) have resulted in new impetus in the negotiations between the main rebel groups in Darfur, namely the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), and the Government of Sudan. (http://global.uib.no/)
Voices of the Talented Tenth: Values of Young Black Males in Higher Education.
Odell Horne, Jr. Africana Library: LC2781 .H67 2007
This study examines the relationship between success and the emotional, psychological, and spiritual development of young black males. Voices of the Talented Tenth elaborate on the premise that in order for young black males to be successful in life they have to possess a high degree of emotional, psychological, and spiritual development. Based on the results of Professor Horne's research, the young black males who were surveyed and interviewed are proving that the mastery of the aforementioned qualities of development does contribute to their development. In the face of oppression, many young black males have succeeded in various endeavors whether academic, athletic, artistic, technological, or in business. This study gives a voice to those men who are enrolled in colleges and universities, while challenging the stereotypes of young black males and their lack of success. (Bowker’s Books in Print)
W.E.B. Du Bois American Prophet. Edward J. Blum. Africana Library: E185.97 .D73 B58 2007
A blend of history, sociology, literary criticism, and religious reflection in the model of Du Bois's best work, this book recasts the life of this great visionary and intellectual for a new generation of scholars and activists. W.E.B. Du Bois, American Prophet is the first religious biography of this leading civil rights activist and intellectual. Though Du Bois is often labeled an atheist, historian Edward J. Blum argues that his religious and spiritual insights are central to understanding his political and intellectual work. Pioneering historian, sociologist, editor, novelist, poet, and organizer, W. E. B. Du Bois was one of the foremost African American intellectuals of the twentieth century. While Du Bois is remembered for his monumental contributions to scholarship and civil rights activism, the spiritual aspects of his work have been misunderstood, even negated. (Bowker’s Books in Print)
Women to Women Young American in South Africa. Dan Connell Africana Library: HN 801 .A8 W65 2006
A journalistic format - designed to render the ideas contained within accessible to as many readers as possible - and a remarkable frankness characterize this unique dialogue between American women and South African survivors of one of the most unequal societies in the world. The result is a window onto the complex process of change itself - both social and deeply personal as well as intensely political. These stories bring to life the spirited debates among activists and academics; radicals and reformists; politicians and spin doctors; and artists and musicians - over how to transform South Africa's newly democratized society for greater social and economic justice. They offer prescriptions for living in this time of change and showcase the wit, style and skill of young American women of diverse social backgrounds whose own engagement with these issues provides a critical subtext. 'Building a New World' presents a conversation among South African and American women about the challenge of building a new society from the ashes of Apartheid era South Africa. (Bowker’s Books in Print)
Alma’s Rainbow. S.l.: Xenon Entertainment Group, 1998. 1 videocassette (ca. 89 min.). Africana Library: Video 674
Rainbow is the daughter of Alma, the no-nonsense owner of a popular beauty parlor. Ruby, Alma’s free-spirited sister, unexpectedly arrives after a ten year absence, causing her to confront her own sexual awakening and provoking Alma to reconsider her own self-inflicted repression. Participants, Kim Weston-Moran, Mizan Nunes, Lee Dobson, Victoria Gabrielle Platt.
Flame. San Francisco, CA: California Newsreel, 1996. 1 videocassette (85 min.) Africana Library: Video 450
Dramatization of the role of women fighters in the Zimbabwean liberation struggle, and of the abuses committed against women and peasants in the military and in Zimbabwean society at large.
Fundi: The Story of Ella Baker. Brooklyn, NY: First Run / Icarus Films, 2007.
1 videodisc (63 min.). Africana Library: Videodisc 301
Profiles the life and work of Ella Baker during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, the period of the most dramatic upsurge in the struggle for racial justice. Since Ms. Baker’s activism spanned over 50 years in the North and the South, the struggles of earlier decades are portrayed, giving a sense of the continuity of the fight for social change. Participants, Ella Baker, Ralph D. Abernathy, Wyatt Tee Walker, Gloster Current.
Ganja & Hess. Chatsworth, CA: Image Entertainment; Alexandria, Va.: All Day Entertainment, 2006. 1 videodisc (113 min.). African Library: Videodisc 309
A Black anthropologist is studying the ancient culture of Myrthia which disappeared when it was destroyed by a transmittable amoebic parasite that was addicted to blood. In the course of his research, he is stabbed with a Myrthian dagger by his assistant who then kills himself.
Moolaade. Canada: Warner Home Video; Distributed by Seville Pictures, 2005. 1 videodisc (120 min.). Africana Library: Videodisc 304
It is the time for the young girls of a village to be "purified" by ritual circumcision. The women know that many girls die after the operation, but the men of the village insist on the ceremony. Since the village men will not marry an un-cut woman, the older women insist on the ritual, too, as their daughters must find husbands. Colle has kept her daughter from being circumcised, and several of the girls go to her for refuge. Colle agrees to help them, and she invokes "moolaade," a form of sanctuary. Participants, Fatoumata Coulibaly, Maïmouna Hélène Diarra, Salimata Traore, Aminata Dao.
