Creating Black Americans: African-American History and Its Meanings, 1619 to the Present

by Nell Irvin Painter

Book Overview

Here is a magnificent account of a past rich in beauty and creativity, but also in tragedy and trauma. 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.

Painter offers a history written for a new generation of African Americans, stretching from life in Africa before slavery...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195137566
• ISBN13: 9780195137569
• Release Date: August 2006
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 496 Pages
• Weight: 2.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 7.4" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

The Most Important History Book I Have Ever Read!!!

I finally finished the book 'Creating Black Americans: African-American History and its Meanings, 1619 to the Present' by Nell Irvin Painter. I can sum up my opinion of the book by saying this is the most important history book I have ever read! This is 392 pages(without notes and references) of essential information about the experience and history of Black people in the United States from the very first time our people set foot in the country. If there was any important figure you wanted to know about that person is mentioned in this book, including Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglas, W.E.B. DuBois, Fannie Lou Hamer, Crispus Attucks, Phyllis Wheatley, James Baldwin, Amiri Baraka, Booker T. Washington, Marcus Garvey, Mary McLeod Bethune, Elderidge Cleaver, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Angela Davis, Abu-Jamal Mumia, and so many others who's names you have probably heard before. I have heard many of the names before but I did not know what the person did or why I should know about them. I am so glad I know who these people are now! Never let anyone tell you African Americans have never achieved anything, we have no role models, or we have no heroes. These people are my heroes! The book showed me how strong our people are and how much they had to fight, survive, and overcome. I swear, African people have had to overcome more than anyone on earth! I am so proud of these people and I know that their struggles, sacrifices, and deaths have made my life possible! If there is any historical event you want to know about, it is in this book. Creating Black Americans is actually a text book. It has 15 chapters including an Epilogue, timelines at the end of each chapter, and discussion questions to think about. It covers our beginnings in Africa, the TransAtlantic Slave Trade, the Civil War and Emancipation, Reconstruction, Segregation, the Harlem Renaissance, The World Wars, The Civil Rights Era, Black Power, and the Hip Hop Era. I think that this is a book that should be in the home of every Black family around the world. It is something that I would like to have for my future children. I hope to add similar books about Africa and the Caribbean to my collection. One ingenious feature of the book is that Nell Irvin Painter included African American art to illustrate the book. Each piece reflected on a historical event, important person, or feeling created by an African American artist. This is the first book I have ever read that had information about African-American art! The art is beautiful and it includes, paintings, sculptures, collages, quilts and even poetry! Some of the art is realistic but a lot of it is abstract and full of emotion. I made a point to take my time looking at the art pieces to really appreciate them. This is an ideal choice for an African American history book because it is a lesson in history that includes art history! I found this book in my university library. For the past couple of years I have been going into the Africa

Engaging and highly readable

The past isn't what it used to be. That's one of the threads which runs throughout this engaging narrative of African American history from 1619 to the present. Too often students misconstrue history as being carved in stone but as this book illustrates - literally, for it includes nearly 150 works of art which provide comment upon on historical events - interpretations of the past change as new facts come to light, or are viewed through a more diverse lens and connected to current events. For example, Painter frequently uses the word "terrorist" when referring to white supremacists who have used violence to limit the rights and economic development of black Americans for centuries. It's a word which is not only appropriate, but more meaningful to contemporary students. Though not an art history book per se (it does not provide analysis of the art, only descriptions which place it in historical context) there is biographical information about each artist at the end of the book. Engaging and highly readable, I recommend this book to anyone seeking a general overview of African American history and culture. I think it would be particularly useful as a text for high school Advanced Placement courses.

Great Book

very descriptive Book on African Americans from Slavery to the present day. very detailed Book that talks about many firsts & also deals with Politics,Entertainment,Creativity & is a full Book that is a Must Read & Have.

Great Book, highly recommend

This is a great book to read, covers everything from the origns of slavery to the rapid growth of hip-hop. The artwork that is included in the book is phenomenal and really adds to the reading experience. This book will be one of the few scholastic books that I don't sell back to the bookstore.

A creative approach

Nell Irvin Painter is the Edward Professor of American History at Princeton University. She is author of many books on the Black experience and African American history in the United States, including 'Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbol' and 'Southern History across the Color Line'. This book, 'Creating Black Americans: African American History and Its Meanings, 1619 to the Present', is a broad, sweeping text that stirs and involves the reader in the long and significant history of this people in North America. Beginning with the Middle Passage and slave trade that brought the majority of Africans to the Western Hemisphere, Painter continues her narrative through to very recent events, including the appointments of Colin Powell and Condaleeza Rice as Secretaries of State for the United States. Painter draws on early stories and official histories, biographical accounts and legends, well-known events and little known incidents. One person highlighted is Olaudah Equiano, one of the earliest of the African slaves to write his account. As one might expect, Painter's pieces on Sojourner Truth and others of her generation are particularly good. Painter also draws on the official history of the quest for civil rights. She looks at famous court cases, like the Dred Scott decision, Plessy v. Ferguson (which made 'separate but equal' a legal standard), Brown v. Board of Education (which knocked down the same 'separate but equal' as being unworkable), and other political and legal events in the quest for civil rights, even those sometimes viewed as separate from the Civil Rights Movement proper, which is also highlighted in good detail. There is also a good discussion of the Black culture in terms of art, literature, film, music and other aspects. The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s is highlighted, as are the figures who came out of this period - Langston Hughes, Duke Ellington, Wallace Thurman, and Zora Neale Hurston, not to mention the very influential Apollo Theatre, helped launch the careers of such talent as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and James Brown, and later Michael Jackson. Painter's historical survey includes a good coverage of the Civil War and the Abolitionist movement, including the aftermath of the unfulfilled promises of Reconstruction. This is a well-illustrated book, with over a hundred photographs and other graphics, and an engaging style of text that keeps the attention of the reader very much engaged.