Alton Hornsby – Black America. A State by State. Historical Encyclopedia

Автор: Alton Hornsby
Название книги: Black America. A State by State. Historical Encyclopedia
Формат: PDF
Жанр: История Америки, Австралии, Океании
Страницы: 1032
Качество: Изначально компьютерное, E-book

African American populations are established in every area of the United States, including Hawaii and Alaska (more than10 percent of the population of Fairbanks, Alaska, is African American). Black Americans have played an invaluable role in creating our great nation in myriad ways, including their physical contributions and labor during the slavery era; intellectually, spiritually, and politically; in service to our country in military duty; and in areas of popular culture such as music, art, sports, and entertainment.

The chapters extend chronologically from the colonial period to the present. Each chapter presents a timeline of African American history in the state, a historical overview, notable African Americans and their pioneering accomplishments, and state-specific traditions or activities. This state-by-state treatment of information allows readers to take pride in what happened in their state and in the famous people who came from their state.

In its two volumes, Black America: A State-by-State Historical Encyclopedia provides a concise reference of
African American history from the origins of slavery in the American colonies to present times. It begins
with an introduction that traces the historiography, or writing, of African American history from its
beginnings in the nineteenth century to the current debates on the meanings of the black experience.
Each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia has a separate chapter written by contributors with
expertise in African American history. Each chapter includes the following sections:
Chronology—showing at a glance the major events and figures in African American history in the
state
Historical Overview—tracing in more detail the history of African Americans in the state from settlement
to the present day
Notable African Americans—providing brief biographical sketches of important African Americans
in many fields who were born or were active in the state
Cultural Contributions—describing cultural events and activities in the state that contributed to
the black experience in America
Bibliography—offering a select list of print and electronic information resources on the black
history of the state
The encyclopedia shows the similarities of experiences, values, and cultural heritage and outlook of
African Americans regardless of the state in which they live. For example, African Americans, North
and South, East and West, have lived with racial discrimination, both overt and subtle. Fundamental
to their values has been a messianic Christianity and a zeal for education as a pathway to success. Yet
within these commonalities there have been exceptions. In some of the smaller states, such as Vermont
in New England, it has been difficult to establish black churches in which to worship in the evangelistic
expressive style (involving active emotional participation whether through shouting or call and response)
that characterizes most black services elsewhere.
The evolution of the value of education among African Americans began in bondage when, even
though education of slaves was prohibited by the southern states, clandestine schools were established.
In other parts of the country, there was little or no segregation in schools—although some states resegregated
from time to time—while in the South the schools were born segregated, with the exception of
parts of Louisiana, which experienced a pattern of resegregation like some of the northern states.
The separate schooling in the South led to the founding of unique institutions of higher education
that would have a monumental and fundamental impact on African American culture while, with few
exceptions, these schools did not exist elsewhere. Hence, blacks outside the South who sought a unique
cultural experience would have to attend southern black colleges. Much like religion, music became a basic feature of African American culture. Black musical expression
has had both commonalities and differences in different states, from the spirituals dating from the
period of enslavement to the Mississippi Delta or St. Louis or Memphis blues, and from New Orleans
or Chicago jazz to gospel and to rap—either northern style or “Dirty South” style.
While racism and legalized or de facto segregation and discrimination have existed everywhere, all the
northern states ended slavery before the beginning of the Civil War, while it took that war to end it in
most of the South. Similarly, de jure or legal racial discrimination persisted in the South until well into
the twentieth century. Once it was ended, southern African Americans, for the most part, entered into a
de facto pattern of race relations like that which has prevailed in other parts of the country. Yet even the
dismantling of de jure segregation and discrimination took different courses in different states and even
within different cities within a state. Because of the style of race relations that had been established in
Atlanta after blacks became a political force there, the desegregation process was much smoother than
in Birmingham or for that matter in all of Alabama. Desegregation in Oklahoma occurred earlier and
with less overt strife than in many other places; still there were race riots in Oklahoma’s history as there
were in Georgia’s.
These volumes, then, using a mosaic compiled in the separate histories in the 50 states and the District
of Columbia, capture the totality of the black experience in the United States. In content and perspectives
as well as readability, this encyclopedia will appeal to students and scholars at all levels as well
as to a general audience.