Defending the Spirit: A Black Life in America

By Randall Robinson

Book Overview

Randall Robinson's Defending The Spirit is a personal account of his rise from poverty in the segregated south to a position as one of the most distinguished and outspoken political activists of our time. In 1977, Robinson founded TransAfrica, the first organization to lobby for the interests of African and Caribbean peoples. TransAfrica was instrumental in the release of Nelson Mandela from prison in South Africa and the reinstatement of President Aristide in Haiti. Robinson's thoughtful and provocative memoir paints a vivid picture of racism in the hallowed halls of Harvard, where he went to law school, as well as the corridors of power in Washington, D.C. He also recounts in fascinating detail his trips to troubled African and Caribbean nations; more than anyone else, he has raised awareness of the problems in those countries. Defending The Spirit also gives a devastating commentary on America's foreign policy endeavors in African and Caribbean nations, and an impassioned call to African-Americans for new leadership and activism to fight racism all over the world.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0452279682
• ISBN13: 9780452279681
• Release Date: February 1999
• Publisher: Plume
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.01 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.9" x 0.8" x 5.4"
• Age Range: 1 year and up
• Grade Range: Grades 1 to 6

Customer Reviews

Defending The Spirit: A Black Life in America

This book should be required reading for all schools. It is time for us to hear the truth about those who run our government, maybe then we will make better choices in our elections. The hardest part about reading this book is that, as a white American, I truly believed we were past racism. Sadly to say we have covered it up in many ways. The forces that were so visible in the past are still alive and well hiding behind the mask of whatever. Thank you Mr. Robinson for telling the truth so that others like myself who continually search for truth can be better informed. The hard part is that I don't know how to change the injustice that is so prevalent.

A POWERFUL READ

I just finished reading this book. Talk about a page turner, I couldn't put this book down. I have never read a more powerful and inspiring book. Bravo to Mr. Randall Robinson for his courage to stand up, write and speak the TRUTH!

Thought-provoking, insightful and deserves to be read.

If, in our society, the employment and social playing field were level and race did NOT matter, there would be no need to read Randall Robinson's book. Unfortunately, for all U.S. citizens, race does matter, still. And because of this indisputable fact, Mr. Robinson's book is a must read. He speaks the truth in his insightful analysis of how our foreign policy affects all of us. Those in power positions who dismiss him, do so at the cost of imperiling the future for average citizens in this country in the coming 21st century.

Outstanding

Is Defending the Spirit a memoir, a history lesson, or an objective critique? It's all these things. Among men like my father, Frederick Douglass, and Martin Luther King, Jr., Randall Robinson has become one of my heroes. He has managed to make US foreign policy accessible. Sadly, the bliss of ignorance is gone and in it's wake is the question 'why are we treated so bad?'