Do you belong to a legendary lineage? In less than 100 pages, the Secret Origins of Black Americans exposes a global phenomenon. Black American history cover-ups, pseudo-origin stories, and diaspora wars over music genres and Jollof rice are ended. 1. Black Americans have been a global obsession for centuries. 2. Black Americans were instrumental in winning the Civil War, stabilizing the country, and moving the country westward. The Statue of Liberty celebrates the Civil War victory and the Emancipation Proclamation, not immigration. 3. Black Americans built the foundational cities in the United States of America with architects and craftsmen, not simple laborers. 4. Jim Crow laws punished Black Americans and exempted foreigners of African descent. 5. New technology and global DNA research shows Black Americans are not Africans in America or a boat stop away from being Caribbean. The “Indian” DNA carried by Black Americans is not only Native American but Austronesian. The book explores the word "black" as an ethnic descriptor. 6. Black American culture is imitated in every country on earth, including isolated Inuit villages. 7. Black Americans broke barriers in over fifty sports and competitions, leading other groups. 8. Black Americans have been targeted by propaganda campaigns for centuries by Europeans and foreigners disguised as Black Americans. 9. Soul food is a Black American cuisine developed in the United States of America, not brought from Africa. 10. Black Americans created every relevant music genre in the United States of America, the Caribbean, and Africa. Rock solid recording dates show the architects of each music genre. 11. Patented innovations and inventions by Black Americans modernized the world. The greatest civil rights activist for Asians in America was Frederick Douglass. Humanitarianism by Black Americans has helped Asians, Oceanians, Holocaust survivors, Latin Americans, Caribbeans, Africans, and more. 12. Since the 1800s, Eurocentrists, Afrocentrists, and pan-Africanists, notably Marcus Garvey, conspired to erase history leaving Black Americans stateless. Includes a step-by-step genealogy guide with links. Contact [email protected] with comments or download issues.

The Black History of the White House presents the untold history, racial politics, and shifting significance of the White House as experienced by African Americans, from the generations of enslaved people who helped to build it or were forced to work there to its first black First Family, the Obamas. Clarence Lusane juxtaposes significant events in White House history with the ongoing struggle for democratic, civil, and human rights by black Americans and demonstrates that only during crises have presidents used their authority to advance racial justice. He describes how in 1901 the building was officially named the “White House” amidst a furious backlash against President Roosevelt for inviting Booker T. Washington to dinner, and how that same year that saw the consolidation of white power with the departure of the last black Congressmember elected after the Civil War. Lusane explores how, from its construction in 1792 to its becoming the home of the first black president, the White House has been a prism through which to view the progress and struggles of black Americans seeking full citizenship and justice. “Clarence Lusane is one of America’s most thoughtful and critical thinkers on issues of race, class and power.”—Manning Marable "Barack Obama may be the first black president in the White House, but he's far from the first black person to work in it. In this fascinating history of all the enslaved people, workers and entertainers who spent time in the president's official residence over the years, Clarence Lusane restores the White House to its true colors."—Barbara Ehrenreich "Reading The Black History of the White House shows us how much we DON'T know about our history, politics, and culture. In a very accessible and polished style, Clarence Lusane takes us inside the key national events of the American past and present. He reveals new dimensions of the black presence in the US from revolutionary days to the Obama campaign. Yes, 'black hands built the White House'—enslaved black hands—but they also built this country's economy, political system, and culture, in ways Lusane shows us in great detail. A particularly important feature of this book its personal storytelling: we see black political history through the experiences and insights of little-known participants in great American events. The detailed lives of Washington's slaves seeking freedom, or the complexities of Duke Ellington's relationships with the Truman and Eisenhower White House, show us American racism, and also black America's fierce hunger for freedom, in brand new and very exciting ways. This book would be a great addition to many courses in history, sociology, or ethnic studies courses. Highly recommended!"—Howard Winant "The White House was built with slave labor and at least six US presidents owned slaves during their time in office. With these facts, Clarence Lusane, a political science professor at American University, opens The Black History of the White House(City Lights), a fascinating story of race relations that plays out both on the domestic front and the international stage. As Lusane writes, 'The Lincoln White House resolved the issue of slavery, but not that of racism.' Along with the political calculations surrounding who gets invited to the White House are matters of musical tastes and opinionated first ladies, ingredients that make for good storytelling."—Boston Globe Dr. Clarence Lusane has published in The Washington Post, The Miami Herald, The Baltimore Sun, Oakland Tribune, Black Scholar, and Race and Class. He often appears on PBS, BET, C-SPAN, and other national media.

"To date, history remains largely white history. Black people, as a race, are virtually non-existent when historical events are described in textbooks, movies and centennial celebrations. Their role in America is most often that of cotton pickers, marchers or rioters. Black History Month narrowly limits contributions of blacks to a familiar list of 10 to 15 individuals when in fact, blacks, though enslaved and powerless, had a profound and indelible influence on the American socio-economic sysem [sic]. Black labor was the engine that drove this nation and civilizations around the world. Slavery and its legacies shaped and coinue [sic] to receal this nation's cultural, moral and ethical hypocrisy. The products of black labor created industrial revolutions in Britain and America. They provoked social tensions that led to the Revolutionary War, Civil War, Reconstruction and a national civil rights movement...the purpose of this book is to unearth and expose some of the 'Dirty Little Secrets' hidden in the darkness of history." -- cover, page 4.

Brief profiles celebrating the achievements and contributions of African-American men and women.

Once they were heroes, but the age of heroes has long since passed. Banished from existence by a multiversal crisis, the old champions of Spiral City--Abraham Slam, Golden Gail, Colonel Weird, Madame Dragonfly, and Barbalien--now lead simple lives in an idyllic, timeless farming village from which there is no escape! But as they employ all of their super abilities to free themselves from this strange purgatory, a mysterious stranger works to bring them back into action for one last adventure! Collects Black Hammer #1-#6. The first chapter in Jeff Lemire (The Underwater Welder, The Complete Essex County, Animal Man) and Dean Ormston's (Lucifer) acclaimed series! “I don’t read many comics these days, and I can’t remember the last time I read a superhero comic, but I’m loving Black Hammer.” – Mike Mignola “Black Hammer is easily one of Lemire’s best creations.” – Scott Snyder “Amazing. Just flat-out amazing.” – Patton Oswalt

Pearl's Secret is a remarkable autobiography and family story that combines elements of history, investigative reporting, and personal narrative in a riveting, true-to-life mystery. In it, Neil Henry—a black professor of journalism and former award-winning correspondent for the Washington Post—sets out to piece together the murky details of his family's past. His search for the white branch of his family becomes a deeply personal odyssey, one in which Henry deploys all of his journalistic skills to uncover the paper trail that leads to blood relations who have lived for more than a century on the opposite side of the color line. At the same time Henry gives a powerful and vivid account of his black family's rise to success over the twentieth century. Throughout the course of this gripping story the author reflects on the part that racism and racial ignorance have played in his daily life—from his boyhood in largely white Seattle to his current role as a parent and educator in California. The contemporary debate over the significance of Thomas Jefferson's longtime romantic relationship with his slave, Sally Hemings, and recent DNA evidence that points to his role as the father of black descendants, have revealed the importance and volatility of the issue of dual-race legacies in American society. As Henry uncovers the dramatic history of his great-great-grandfather—a white English immigrant who fought as a Confederate officer in the Civil War, found success during Reconstruction as a Louisiana plantation owner, and enjoyed a long love affair with Henry's great-great-grandmother, a freed black slave—he grapples with an unsettling ambivalence about what he is trying to do. His straightforward, honest voice conveys both the pain and the exhilaration that his revelations bring him about himself, his family, and our society. In the book's stunning climax, the author finally meets his white kin, hears their own remarkable story of survival in America, and discovers a great deal about both the sting of racial prejudice as it is woven into the fabric of the nation, and his own proud identity as a teacher, father, and black American.

Who is buried under the runway at Savannah Airport? Was “Jingle Bells” really written in Savannah, despite a distinct lack of snow to dash through? And what is the source of that peculiar echo on River Street? Find the answers to these and many more questions in Secret Savannah: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure. While it may be renowned for its majestic moss-draped oaks and historic architecture, there are many more things to discover in this beguiling coastal city. Did you know that Football Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath once tried to turn one of Savannah’s most remarkable homes into a nightclub? Or that Martin Luther King Jr. gave an early version of his famous “I Have a Dream” speech in Savannah before he delivered it at the Lincoln Memorial? Local author Christopher Berinato has scoured the fringes of greater Savannah to dig up some deep cuts of history, legends, and maybe even a few ghosts. Let his eye-opening guide astound you with fascinating tales of the most charming city in the South.