African Americans: Opposing Viewpoints (American History Series (San Diego, Calif.).)

Covers slavery, abolitionism, reconstruction, political debate on the rights of African Americans, the Harlem renaissance, the Civil Rights movement, and the continuing challenges of racism

Grade 7 Up. Using original documents, this book charts various points of view regarding issues relating to the black experience throughout American history. Arranged chronologically, the debates run the gamut from the founding fathers' views on race to stances on the abolition of slavery to civil rights and the benefits of affirmative action. The writings stand on their own, with little explanation required. The editor begins with Thomas Jefferson's essay, excerpted from a chapter from Notes on the State of Virginia, published in 1787, explaining his view that blacks are inferior to whites. The opposing viewpoint is provided by Benjamin Banneker in a letter he sent to Jefferson in 1791. Other documents debate the usefulness of the Freedmen's Bureau, the causes for lynching, Reconstruction, and Booker T. Washington's position on black education and work. This is an informative compilation that skillfully uses a number of primary sources to examine African-American issues, beginning with slavery and ending with debates about race that still rage today.?Carol Jones Collins, Montclair Kimberley Academy, NJ
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