Reading correspondence whether personal or business unfolds the deep personality of the writer and his/her perception of the recipient. Letters From Black America, according to editor Pamela Newkirk, “is an attempt to help fill the literary and historical void by presenting a multidimensional portrait of African American life from the eighteenth to the 21st century through illuminating letters of ordinary and exceptional African Americans.”
Dear Coretta Scott King
Letters From Black America covers public and private lives of African Americans in seven sections, Family, Courtship and Romance, Politics and Social Justice, Education and the Art of Scholarship, War, Art and Culture ending with Across the Diaspora. A letter dated July 18, 1952 from Martin Luther King, Jr. to his wife Coretta Scott King opens with, “Darling, I miss you so much. In fact, much to much for my own good.” The sign off reads, “Eternally yours, Martin.” The world knows the man who fought for civil rights and gave his life in the service thereof. His letters in this book show King’s romantic side, which is just as fervent, compelling, and unforgettable as his well-known public persona.
Marcus Garvey writes from the Atlanta Prison in February 1925 to “Fellow Men of the Negro Race.” This missive assures Garvey’s followers that he is well and committed to “suffer and even die,” for the cause. He writes of power misused by those who are public proponents of the cause but are really, the “greatest enemies of the black people have in the world,” referring to the NAACP, which he refers to as that, “vicious Negro-hating organization.”
A sampling of these incredible letter writers includes: Zora Neale Hurston to Langston Hughes; W.E.B. Du Bois to Yolande Du Bois; Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. to Eleanor Roosevelt; Bayard Rustin to New York City’s Mayor Edward I. Koch; Alice Walker to President-Elect Barack Obama. In an interview with Barbara Spindel, Newkirk says, “the letters of African Americans, like so much in African American life, have long been devalued. The primary purpose of this collection is to raise awareness of the need to collect and preserve these irreplaceable historical relics.” The reader will disagree with the term relic as these letters are fresh, thought provoking and inspiring in this age of email to pick up a real pen and compose something loving, important and lasting.
In The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander has written a powerful exploration of the crisis caused by mass incarceration of young men of “color” in the United States. The author rightly views this as a modern day method of racial control employed by the U.S. criminal justice system. The author informs the reader right up front that, “This book is not for everyone. I have a specific audience in mind – people who care deeply about racial justice.”
Wake up, this is the 21st century, its time for everyone to be on board with this concept and thus the audience for this book is wide and deep. The Encyclopedia Britannica defines Jim Crow as, “a term that came to be a derogatory epithet for blacks and a designation for their segregated life.” How many people know where the term emanated from? The answer, Jim Crow was the title of a minstrel routine written by Thomas Dartmouth Rice that debuted in 1877. Alexander’s The New Jim Crow provides the context in strong, clear language hypothesizing and concluding that segregation survives putting a chokehold on society 50 years after the Jim Crow laws were abolished. The reader is left with the thought that lip service has been and continues to be paid to racial equality. Alexander has penned a call to action that cannot be ignored.
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Marcus Garvey, as noted previously, vehemently disliked the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (“NAACP”) but for many this organization, founded in 1909, broke barriers advocating for a “more just America.” Historian Patricia Sullivan’s Lift Every Voice debunks myths that have surrounded the NAACP from its inception. Sullivan has sifted through extensive research to document the contributions and immense changes that the NAACP has wrought along with the people who led the charge. Sullivan steers clear of pedantic and academic language. She has written in a style accessible to all of issues, many still active today that affect all, or at least deserve to be considered by all.
These books are not just static information, each is a call to action, and every person can make a difference by sharing the books, starting discussions and through service to their communities. The Corporation for National and Community Service is spearheading a program assisting citizens, students, religious and secular organizations and educators with the planning of a “King Day Project.” A dedicated government website provides sample projects, marketing tools, tips for partnership building, guides for schools and organizations and assistance and encouragement for service projects that extend beyond January 18, 2010.
Letters from Black America
Edited by Pamela Newkirk
Farrar Straus Giroux
ISBN 978-0-374-10109-1
The New Jim Crow
By Michelle Alexander
The New Press
ISBN 978-1-59558-103-7
Life Every Voice
By Patricia Sullivan
The New Press
ISBN 978-1-59558-446-5
Dindy Yokel - Freelance writer Dindy Yokel specializes in luxury travel, food & wine, culture, fine arts, marketing, public relations and advertising. ...
