Before the Mayflower A History of Black America. By Lerone Bennett, Jr.
In his book, Before the Mayflower A History of Black America, Lerone Bennett, Jr. seeks to tell the story of the progression of Black America from its earliest beginnings. He sets out to trace the struggles, victories, and everything in-between of black Americans at large, from their time in Africa to the modern period. This is quite an ambitious effort, and the author approaches the goal with a sense of unbridled optimism about the feasibility of such a project. Using many different sources, both anecdotal and empirical, the author sets out to paint a comprehensive picture of how difficult it has been for black America to get to where it is right now.
The author is a highly respected social historian, a fact that provides him with plenty of clout for taking on such a project. As an editor of Ebony magazine, he has an ear to the pulse of the black community at the time being, and he has spent many years studying the history of black America. His wide range of experiences gives him the ability to cover such a vast topic in a way that is easy to digest, but it probably adds to some of the biases in the book, as well. Though the author seeks to provide a clear and honest picture of black history in the United States, there are certain biases that he rightly cannot shake when putting together the book. Especially when speaking of issues such as racism and the Jim Crow era, it is hard for the author to pull together a balanced, two-sided view of what may have happened. This is not exactly a fault of his rather, a natural human element that cannot be ignored when considering a work such as this one.
Because the author is a person with a steeped background in social history, it is no surprise that he chooses to lean on powerful images created by anecdotal evidence from various sources. Throughout the work, he traces the historical path of many different important individuals in black history by going back and finding documents that were written from those individuals. He allows these primary source documents to paint a picture of what these people might have been like. This adds a strong human element to the book, and forces the reader to consider some vivid themes. Where this leaves the book weak is in opposing viewpoints, as individuals who are involved in struggles are apt to exaggerate their circumstances. Especially when considering things like slavery, it may have been true that some of the things were exaggerated for the sake of good storytelling, which is one of the inherent problems with anecdotal parts of social history. Still, it does allow the reader to consider the history of black America through the eyes of those people who lived it in its most difficult times, which adds something to the public knowledge base. The majority of documents are not written from that viewpoint, so this one is meaningful in that regard.
The book in itself is well written, as it certainly pulls at the heart strings of any person who happens to read it. The author does an excellent job of brining his historical characters to life, letting readers know that they are more than just names in a history book. Instead, these individuals were real and more importantly, their struggles were real. The authors purpose with this work is to show that the current position of black Americans did not happen by accident. A number of events had to take place and a number of strong people led black America through substantial periods of struggle. The author relates this clearly, and the chronological approach that he takes certainly enhances the effect. At certain points, the work becomes bogged down and less compelling, but thus is the nature of history when dealing with such a broad topic and long time period. Certain parts of cultural history are bound to be more boring than others, and the author does a nice job of keeping things rolling through these comparatively dull instances. Additionally, the author sets out to provide a unique perspective on a part of history that has been studied many times. Many books and papers have been written on black American history, but this one focuses more on the individuals and how they acted to bring about the success of black Americans as a group. He succeeds in showing the strength and the human quality of these individuals, and succeeds in setting this work apart from many others.
In total, the work has some weaknesses, which mainly come from the vast nature of the topic and the fact that the author has expected prejudices. Given his viewpoint, the author is able to provide as balanced a look as could be expected, and he truly seems to care for the subject matter. The positives far outweigh the negatives, and it could be argued that this work adds a significant amount to the current knowledge base on this historical subject. It is meaningful for that reason, and a worthy read for anyone interested in tackling the entirety of black American history.
The author is a highly respected social historian, a fact that provides him with plenty of clout for taking on such a project. As an editor of Ebony magazine, he has an ear to the pulse of the black community at the time being, and he has spent many years studying the history of black America. His wide range of experiences gives him the ability to cover such a vast topic in a way that is easy to digest, but it probably adds to some of the biases in the book, as well. Though the author seeks to provide a clear and honest picture of black history in the United States, there are certain biases that he rightly cannot shake when putting together the book. Especially when speaking of issues such as racism and the Jim Crow era, it is hard for the author to pull together a balanced, two-sided view of what may have happened. This is not exactly a fault of his rather, a natural human element that cannot be ignored when considering a work such as this one.
Because the author is a person with a steeped background in social history, it is no surprise that he chooses to lean on powerful images created by anecdotal evidence from various sources. Throughout the work, he traces the historical path of many different important individuals in black history by going back and finding documents that were written from those individuals. He allows these primary source documents to paint a picture of what these people might have been like. This adds a strong human element to the book, and forces the reader to consider some vivid themes. Where this leaves the book weak is in opposing viewpoints, as individuals who are involved in struggles are apt to exaggerate their circumstances. Especially when considering things like slavery, it may have been true that some of the things were exaggerated for the sake of good storytelling, which is one of the inherent problems with anecdotal parts of social history. Still, it does allow the reader to consider the history of black America through the eyes of those people who lived it in its most difficult times, which adds something to the public knowledge base. The majority of documents are not written from that viewpoint, so this one is meaningful in that regard.
The book in itself is well written, as it certainly pulls at the heart strings of any person who happens to read it. The author does an excellent job of brining his historical characters to life, letting readers know that they are more than just names in a history book. Instead, these individuals were real and more importantly, their struggles were real. The authors purpose with this work is to show that the current position of black Americans did not happen by accident. A number of events had to take place and a number of strong people led black America through substantial periods of struggle. The author relates this clearly, and the chronological approach that he takes certainly enhances the effect. At certain points, the work becomes bogged down and less compelling, but thus is the nature of history when dealing with such a broad topic and long time period. Certain parts of cultural history are bound to be more boring than others, and the author does a nice job of keeping things rolling through these comparatively dull instances. Additionally, the author sets out to provide a unique perspective on a part of history that has been studied many times. Many books and papers have been written on black American history, but this one focuses more on the individuals and how they acted to bring about the success of black Americans as a group. He succeeds in showing the strength and the human quality of these individuals, and succeeds in setting this work apart from many others.
In total, the work has some weaknesses, which mainly come from the vast nature of the topic and the fact that the author has expected prejudices. Given his viewpoint, the author is able to provide as balanced a look as could be expected, and he truly seems to care for the subject matter. The positives far outweigh the negatives, and it could be argued that this work adds a significant amount to the current knowledge base on this historical subject. It is meaningful for that reason, and a worthy read for anyone interested in tackling the entirety of black American history.
Categories:
0 comments:
Post a Comment