Black Light: The African American Hero - Softcover

Harrison, Paul Carter; Duke, Bill; Glover, Danny

9781560250609: Black Light: The African American Hero

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1560250607 ISBN 13: 9781560250609

Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Pr, 1993

Profiles more than seventy-five African-American heroes of the twentieth century, including Jackie Robinson, Maya Angelou, Muhammed Ali, Toni Morrison, Arthur Ashe, and Alice Walker

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From Publishers Weekly:

According to Harrison, the purpose of this collection of 86 profiles is "to identify those persons of African descent in recent times whose individual actions will have a lasting impact and effect on sustaining an affirmative transformation of the black experience into the twenty-first century." African American authors, athletes, media stars, musicians and other performers, and social activists parade past the reader in thumbnail biographies, each paired with a photograph. The editorial preference for breadth over depth, however, often results in frustratingly sketchy portraiture. Some of the author's pronouncements invite skepticism (we learn, for example, that Arsenio Hall's mother was "constantly abused by his father simply because of differing opinions"), and, indeed, objectivity is not always evident: an entry on Carol Mosely Braun praises her "stout-hearted and confrontative campaign" while ignoring the scandals that surfaced during it; in the section devoted to Hill, the authors describe the Supreme Court nomination of Clarence Thomas (who is not profiled in the book) as "clearly a political ploy, rather than a recommendation based upon merit." Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

In the age of the African American superstar, it makes a nice change to read these minibiographies of less celebrated but nonetheless important African Americans of the past. In this collection of inspiring photo essays, the authors include runner Jesse Owens, who, under great pressure at Hitler's Berlin Olympics of 1936, walked away with four gold medals. Included are lesser-known contributors worth mention for their outstanding achievements: Douglas Turner Ward, an activist in the 1930s, and athlete Carl Lewis, who broke a world record for the 100-meter dash in 1991. The book is arranged so that the persons are listed according to the different categories in which they excelled, e.g., media, music, and the military. Author and actor Glover, paying tribute to them all, writes, "They are all part of the extended family of African American life and have given much to setting our aspirations just another notch higher." Their talents are impressive. Theresa Ducato

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