To give voice to the historic election of President Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States, this anthology of essays, poetry, and creative non-fiction documents the conversation on President Obama's campaign within the African American community, and the dialogue after his election and since he has taken the Oath of Office. Included are perspectives on the historical moments during President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, the finale of the 2008 general election, and Obama's new plans and policies since he took office in January 20, 2009. Editors Lita Hooper, Michael Simanga, and Sonia Sanchez have assembled an impressive list of forty-four contributors to capture the energy and excitement, the expectation and hope. Featured are works from Lita Hooper, Michael Sigmanga, Sonia Sanchez, Amiri Baraka, Haki Madhubuti, Askia Toure, Quincy Troupe, Chuck D, Pearl Cleage, Natasha Trethewey, Tony Medina, Jessica Care Moore, Nathan McCall, Jasmine Guy, Farai Chideya, Keith Gilyard, Opal Moore, Sharan Strange, and Tina McElroy Ansa.

Dr. Aminifu R. Harvey’s compilation of his selected writings is enormously important for those interested in Afrocentric theory and practice. Dr. Harvey has provided the necessary confluence between Afrocentric theory and practice and how this link can be used to explain and resolve the pressing mental and social problems that have afflicted people of African ancestry. His work is seminal because he is the first trained social worker in the U.S. to incorporate the cultural principles and practices of traditional Africa into the social work/human service profession’s written knowledge base. This is a major accomplishment for at least two reasons. Although social work’s written knowledge base had begun to integrate what was referred to as “the Black Perspective” in the 1970s, this perspective largely focused on African-Americans’ experiences with racial oppression in the U.S. and how they resisted and creatively adapted to that oppression. Little, if any, attention has been given to how the legacy of traditional Africa influenced the lives of Black people. Second, the professional acknowledgement of traditional African cultural principles and practices allowed Dr. Harvey to initiate the critical work of codifying these principles and practices into a coherent model of human service practice and research. Dr. Harvey can and should be viewed as one of the “founders” of what we now commonly refer to as “culturally competent” mental health and human service practice. This book is a must read for those who seek to better understand the evolution of the Afrocentric paradigm as one of the earliest expressions of using an oppressed group’s culture as the foundation for professional practice.” -Jerome H. Schiele, D.S.W., Bowie State University Department of Social Work

Brilliant Flame! Amiri Baraka is an intergenerational collection of writing from poets, dramatists, musicians, educators, historians and cultural workers and theorists examining the work and influence of Amiri Baraka. The dramatist, novelist and poet, Amiri Baraka is one of the most respected and widely published African-American writers. With the beginning of Black Civil Rights Movements during the sixties, Baraka explored the anger of African-Americans and used his writings as a weapon against racism. Also, he advocated scientific socialism with his revolutionary inclined poems and aimed at creating aesthetic through them. Amiri Baraka’s writing career spans over nearly fifty years and has mostly focused on the subjects of Black Liberation and White Racism. Often recognized as a key founder of the Black Arts Movement, Amiri Baraka was a prolific writer and world-renowned poet. While this book provides its contributors a forum in which to examine his poetic and artistic aesthetics, Brilliant Flame! will more importantly bring to the forefront Baraka’s reach as political activist, historian and cultural visionary.

An informative collection of narratives (in their words) from some of the most prominent and important Black scholars, artists. From Kwaku Person-Lynn: The most important thing to remember is that the person I am talking with has a body of knowledge that needs to be preserved for the next generation. We needed to hear our history and culture from our perspective….To know that thousands were listening to the teachings of John Henrik Clarke, Cheikh Anta Diop, Yosef-ben-Jochannan, Ivan Van Sertima, Frances Cress Welsing, W.E.B. DuBois, Asa Hilliard, Na’im Akbar, and many others was transformative to so many lives.

A collection of essays and poetic commentary that focus on Black self-determination and empowerment. Presents a wholistic plan for attaining liberation. Madhubuti focuses on Africans defining, controlling, and taking responsibility for their own reality.

There has been a surfeit of books on the storied Harlem Renaissance, but Herb Boyd has given this historical era a fresh reprise. While the usual decade or more of turn of events and characters are present, Boyd's connects the period with other cultural and political developments. He shows how the Harlem Renaissance is ineluctably bound with the Garvey movement, particularly with a coterie of writers who shared their genius with Garvey's Negro World publication along with their contributions in such breakthrough books and political organs as Alain Locke's The New Negro, the Crisis, The Messenger, and Opportunity magazine.