It's ironic (and shameful) that a nation which prides itself on freedom, equality and independence should have acquired a significant number of its citizens against their will. Equally shameful, however, is the assumption that the descendants of the slaves still need a leg up, that they're culturally backward and can't fend for themselves. Liberals propound this all the time, under the guise of "humanitarian efforts" and "affirmative action."
Anyone who thinks this way has never heard of Frederick Douglass, or Booker T. Washington, or George Washington Carver, or Richard Wright, or Ralph Ellison, or Langston Hughes....and that isn't even the beginning of the list. The way to think about African Americans isn't as African Americans, but simply as Americans whose ethnic and ancestral roots are in Africa.
Putting African Americans in a whole different category is condescending and hypocritical. Still, they do constitute a significant demographic, and many of them relish and maintain their cultural heritage far more assiduously than European Americans (though probably less carefully than most Asian Americans).
The use of regional modifiers before the word "American" is a bit counterintuitive. We are all Americans, and to identify ourselves as a particular type belies the equality we so highly praise publicly. Perhaps the best way to break these walls of separation is to learn as much about our African American brothers and sisters as possible, till we see the differences between us are insignificant and synthetic.
To that end, we offer you African American biographies. Many of those we carry are specifically oriented toward Christian men and women, though secular writers, scientists, musicians, politicians and athletes are also represented. We hope these life stories are inspiring, and that they lead to increasingly genial relations between members of all ethnic groups who collectively inhabit the United States of America.
Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews
here.
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