How Blacks Built America Labor, Culture, Freedom, and Democracy [Hardcover]

How Blacks Built Americaexamines the many positive and dramatic contributions made by African Americans to this country over its long history. Almost all public and scholarly discussion of African Americans accenting their distinctive societal position, especially discussion outside black communities, has emphasized either stereotypically negative features or the negative socioeconomic conditions that they have long faced because of systemic racism. In contrast, Feagin reveals that African Americans have long been an extraordinarily important asset for this country. Without their essential contributions, indeed, there probably would nothave been a United States. This is an ideal addition to courses race and ethnicity courses.

1. White Racism, Black Resistance: Seeking Freedom, Justice, and Democracy 2. Black Labor: Building the Economy 3. Black Genius Shaping U.S. Culture 4. Black Counter-Framing: Real Freedom, Justice, and Democracy (1600s-1910s) 5. Black Action: Accelerating Freedom, Justice, and Democracy (1700s-1800s) 6. Black Counter-Framing and Liberatory Action (1900s-1970s) 7. Contemporary Global Impacts: Freedom, Justice, and Democracy

With this pathbreaking book Professor Feagin inverts the standard Black History Month narrative. It's not just that African Americans have made valuable contributions to American culture and history. His point is that fundamental aspects of American life simply wouldn't exist were it not for African Americans. This is an exciting reconceptualization of the place of African Americans in American life.

-Kirk Johnson, Sociology, University of Mississippi

Joe Feagin, the nations leading civil rights scholar, places African Americans at the heart of Americas greatness. Fair, judicious, and exhaustively researched, this book analyzes the many contributions African Americans have made to our country since its inception. Feagin answers thl£*