Critical Perspectives on Historical and Contemporary Issues About Africa and Black America

“These essays focus upon three distinct themes in the African, African American and Diaspora experience: studies that acknowledge and highlight the complexities in the historical experiences of Blacks; studies that underscore the cultural differences and transformations in the Black Diaspora; and studies that propose strategies for better understanding the relationship between continental Africans, African Americans, and Blacks in the Diaspora in general ... These essays examine the impact of that new environment on shaping the mind and mood of Black Americans and challenge many of the traditional interpretations ... offers some new and thought-provoking, although sometimes controversial perspectives.” – Professor C. Calvin Smith, Arkansas State University

“This book of readings is a response to specialists in Black Studies who have stressed the need to expand students’ horizons to include an overview of Africans and their Diaspora in the Americas as an integral part of World History. This book is highly recommended as supplementary reading in conjunction with basic textbooks and standard works in Black Studies, ethnic studies, history and other social behavioral science disciplines.” – Professor C. J. White, Metropolitan State College of Denver

Preface (C. Alvin Hughes)
Introduction (Tunde Adeleke)
1. Africa in the Early America Experience: The 17th and 18th Centuries (Abel Bartley)
2. The Black Press and Africa in the 19th Century Black American Struggle for Equality (Johnson Adefila)
3. The Fragile and Utilitarian Nature of Afrocentric Consciousness and Identity: A Historical Validation (Tunde Adeleke)
4. New Light on Africa: Afrocentricity vs. Inferiority Myths (Randolph Meade Walker)
5. Africa, African-Americans and Eurocentric Diffusion (Charles Jackson)
6. The Utility of Africa in the Black American Struggle: A Paradigmatic Analysis (Tunde Adeleke)
7. Rebuilding Continental-Diaspora African Relations: An Examination of Path-Breaking Trends in Governmental, Pan-African and Educational Linkages (Victor Okafor)
8. Losing Ground: Historically Black Colleges/Universities & International Education (Violett Baffour)