Painter looks at the free black population, numbering close to half a million by 1860 (compared to almost four million slaves), and provides a gripping account of the horrible conditions of slavery itself. The book describes the staggering number of Africans-over ten million-forcibly transported to the New World, most doomed to brutal servitude in Brazil and the Caribbean. Painter offers a history written for a new generation of African Americans, stretching from life in Africa before slavery to today's hip-hop culture. Eminent historian Nell Irvin Painter blends a vivid narrative based on the latest research with a wonderful array of artwork by African American artists, works which add a new depth to our understanding of black history. Here is a magnificent account of a past rich in beauty and creativity, but also in tragedy and trauma.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |