Every year, American schoolchildren celebrate Black History Month. They study almost exclusively American stories, which are not only rooted in struggle over enslavement or oppression, but also take in only four hundred years of a rich and thrilling history that goes back many millennia across the African continent. Through portraits of ten historical figures - from Menes, the first ruler to be called Pharaoh, to Queen Idia, a sixteenth-century power broker, visionary, and diplomat - African Iconstakes readers on a journey across Africa to meet some of the great leaders and thinkers whose ideas built a continent and shaped our world.

This volume offers an examination of African Americans in sports, from a variety of perspectives. It explores the history and lives of complex, multi-layered personages and groups. Also examined is the extent to which modern mass media and popular culture have contributed greatly to the rise, and sometimes fall, of these powerful symbols of athletic, individual, and group excellence.

Perform the national anthem at President Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony. Wow the crowd with a spectacular Super Bowl halftime show. Win a Grammy. When you are legendary singer and performer Beyonce Knowles, this is just a regular month's work. Beyonce went from a child singer in her hometown of Houston, Texas, to one of the most recognizable faces on the planet. She has sold millions of records, made hit movies, and runs a clothing line. This superstar does it all. Author Michael A. Schuman chronicles the life of the amazing Beyonce.

Presents the history of Africa's rich cultural empires from the early part of the millennium through the time of Christopher Columbus.

One of the first singles from The Black Album, a famous Jay-Z record, rap "What More Can I Say"? But the real question is what more can this music legend do? From the platinum albums to the sold-out concerts to his Rocawear clothing brand, Jay-Z has done it all. He has sold some 50 million albums worldwide. He even has a sneaker named after him. From the Brooklyn projects to the corner office in Manhattan, Jay-Z made his own way, overcoming many obstacles. Author Jeff Burlingame explores the remarkably interesting life of this hip-hop icon.

In the American world, the presence of African culture is sometimes fully embodied and sometimes leaves only a trace. Africa in the American Imagination: Popular Culture, Racialized Identities, and African Visual Culture explores this presence, examining Mattel's world of Barbie, the 1996 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, and Disney World, each of which repackages African visual culture for consumers. Because these cultural icons permeate American life, they represent the broader U.S. culture and its relationship to African culture. This study integrates approaches from art history and visual culture studies with those from culture, race, and popular culture studies to analyze this interchange. Two major threads weave throughout. One analyzes how the presentation of African visual culture in these popular culture forms conceptualizes Africa for the American public. The other investigates the way the uses of African visual culture focuses America's own self-awareness, particularly around black and white racialized identities. In exploring the multiple meanings that “Africa” has in American popular culture, Africa in the American Imagination argues that these cultural products embody multiple perspectives and speak to various sociopolitical contexts: the Cold War, civil rights, and contemporary eras of the United States; the apartheid and post-apartheid eras of South Africa; the colonial and postcolonial eras of Ghana; and the European era of African colonization.