"The most authoritative research and scholarly reference set on the African experience. Covers prominent individuals, events, trends, places, political movements, art forms, business, religion, ethnic groups, organizations and countries on both sides of the Atlantic."

The black experience in America has been one of pain, struggle, and perseverance, placed against a backdrop of cultural identity that would not be beaten down or eradicated in the face of adversity. Born of this combination of effort and identity and shaped by experience is the African-American, whose resultant cultural identity and history has for far too long remained only partly defined and incompletely documented. Filling this void, at last, is The Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History - an authoritative, five volume work dealing with all aspects of the African-American experience from 1619 to the present day. With over 2,300 entries, 2,500 pages, and more than 1,000 photographs, maps, and charts, the Encyclopedia encompasses a broad range of topics in an effort to fully define in one source both the cultural roots and the current condition of the African-American community.

The Encyclopedia of Black Studies will be the leading reference source for dynamic and innovative research on the Black Experience. The concept for the encyclopedia was developed from the successful Journal of Black Studies and contains a full analysis of the economic, political, sociological, historical, literary and philosophical issues related to Americans of African descent. The content is considerd at the forefront of the recent explosive growth in quality scholarship in the field. More than a chronicle of black culture or black people, this encyclopedia deals with the emergence and maturity of an intellectual field over the past four decades. Beginning with the protests at San Francisco State College in 1967 that led to the first degree-granting department of Black Studies, the field′s rapid growth over time necessitates an authoritative account of the discipline. More than ever scholars and students need a clear conception of what the evolutionary processes have been in the creation and maintenance of the discipline. Key Features: Over 240 signed articles by nearly 200 scholars, organized A to Z, with coverage spanning the social sciences Edited by the founder and current editor of the Journal of Black Studies Reader′s Guide facilitates browsing by topic and easy access to information Contains numerous illustrative charts, sidebars, and historical photographs Appendices with listings of doctoral granting programs, major journals in the field, and professional and scholarly associations Master Bibliography Topics Covered * Afrocentricity * Annual Conferences * Anti-Racism * Arts * Associations and Organizations * Books * Campus Politics * Civil Rights * Classical Africa * Concepts * Culture * Departmental Histories * Films * Intellectual Schools * Institutions * Journals * Legal Issues * Movements * Newspapers * Political Issues * Professional Organizations * Publishers * Racism * Religion * Reparations * Research Centers * Resistance * Theories * United States Constitution

According to the latest census data, less than 13 percent of the U.S. population identifies as African American; African Americans are still very much a minority group. Yet African American cultural expression and strong influences from African American culture are common across mainstream American culture--in music, the arts, and entertainment; in education and religion; in sports; and in politics and business. African American Culture: An Encyclopedia of People, Traditions, and Customs covers virtually every aspect of African American cultural expression, addressing subject matter that ranges from how African culture was preserved during slavery hundreds of years ago to the richness and complexity of African American culture in the post-Obama era. The most comprehensive reference work on African American culture to date, the multivolume set covers such topics as black contributions to literature and the arts, music and entertainment, religion, and professional sports. It also provides coverage of less-commonly addressed subjects, such as African American fashion practices and beauty culture, the development of jazz music across different eras, and African American business.

A landmark scholarly achievement publishing February 2008 in 8 volumes -- Order early and save $200!The African American National Biography will present history through a mosaic of the lives of thousands of individuals, illuminating the abiding influence of persons of African descent on the life of this nation from the arrival of Esteban in Spanish Florida in 1529 through to notable blackcitizens of the present day.Available initially as a handsome 8-volume set containing over 4,000 entries written and signed by distinguished scholars, the AANB will continue to grow along with the field of African American biographical research, and continuous updates to the online edition will bring the total number of livesprofiled to more than 5,000. This is a remarkable achievement, an eightfold increase over the number of biographies contained in 2004's award-winning and substantial African American Lives.In addition to Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. Du Bois and Martin Luther King Jr., the AANB will include a wide range of African Americans from all time periods and all walks of life, both famous and nearly-forgotten. In the words of AANB editor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., "Thesestories, long buried in the dusty archives of history, will never be lost again. And that is what scholarship in the field of African American Studies should be all about."

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.

African American Lives offers up-to-date, authoritative biographies of some 600 noteworthy African Americans. These 1,000-3,000 word biographies, selected from over five thousand entries in the forthcoming eight-volume African American National Biography, illuminate African-American historythrough the immediacy of individual experience. From Esteban, the earliest known African to set foot in North America in 1528, right up to the continuing careers of Venus and Serena Williams, these stories of the renowned and the near forgotten give us a new view of American history. Our past isrevealed from personal perspectives that in turn inspire, move, entertain, and even infuriate the reader. Subjects include slaves and abolitionists, writers, politicians, and business people, musicians and dancers, artists and athletes, victims of injustice and the lawyers, journalists, and civilrights leaders who gave them a voice. Their experiences and accomplishments combine to expose the complexity of race as an overriding issue in America's past and present.African American Lives features frequent cross-references among related entries, over 300 illustrations, and a general index, supplemented by indexes organized by chronology, occupation or area of renown, and winners of particular honors such as the Spingarn Medal, Nobel Prize, and PulitzerPrize.

The most complete and affordable singlevolume reference of African American culture available today, this almanac is a unique and valuable resource devoted to illustrating and demystifying the moving, difficult, and often lost history of black life in America. A legacy of pride, struggle, and triumph spanning more than 400 years is presented through a fascinating mix of biographies--including more than 750 influential figures--littleknown or misunderstood historical facts, enlightening essays on significant legislation and movements, and 150 rare photographs and illustrations. Covering events surrounding the civil rights movement; African American literature, art, and music; religion within the black community; and advances in science and medicine, this reference connects history to the issues currently facing the African American community and provides a range of information on society and culture.

Comprises short sketches of the lives of Afro-Americans who made significant contributions in the arts, politics, sports, and religion, among other fields.

More than seven hundred entries spanning three centuries of American history recount the lives and accomplishments of Black Americans whose occupations range from explorers and sea captains to artists and scientists.