Black AF History
The Un-Whitewashed Story of America
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- £21.99
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- £21.99
Publisher Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NAACP IMAGE AWARD NOMINEE * AMAZON'S TOP 20 HISTORY BOOKS OF 2023 * B&N BEST OF EDUCATIONAL HISTORY * THE ROOT'S BEST BOOKS OF 2023 * CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2023
From acclaimed columnist and political commentator Michael Harriot, a searingly smart and bitingly hilarious retelling of American history that corrects the record and showcases the perspectives and experiences of Black Americans.
America’s backstory is a whitewashed mythology implanted in our collective memory. It is the story of the pilgrims on the Mayflower building a new nation. It is George Washington’s cherry tree and Abraham Lincoln’s log cabin. It is the fantastic tale of slaves that spontaneously teleported themselves here with nothing but strong backs and negro spirituals. It is a sugarcoated legend based on an almost true story.
It should come as no surprise that the dominant narrative of American history is blighted with errors and oversights—after all, history books were written by white men with their perspectives at the forefront. It could even be said that the devaluation and erasure of the Black experience is as American as apple pie.
In Black AF History, Michael Harriot presents a more accurate version of American history. Combining unapologetically provocative storytelling with meticulous research based on primary sources as well as the work of pioneering Black historians, scholars, and journalists, Harriot removes the white sugarcoating from the American story, placing Black people squarely at the center. With incisive wit, Harriot speaks hilarious truth to oppressive power, subverting conventional historical narratives with little-known stories about the experiences of Black Americans. From the African Americans who arrived before 1619 to the unenslavable bandit who inspired America’s first police force, this long overdue corrective provides a revealing look into our past that is as urgent as it is necessary. For too long, we have refused to acknowledge that American history is white history. Not this one. This history is Black AF.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Harriot (The Situation in South Carolina), a columnist at TheGrio, offers a razor-sharp reassessment of American history. In a textbook format (including end-of-chapter quizzes and sidebars) meant to counter the "whitewashed" version of U.S. history often taught in schools, Harriot examines well-known events—including the founding of Jamestown and the growth of the Atlantic slave trade—with a focus on the experiences and contributions of Indigenous and Black people, such as enslaved West Africans' introduction of rice ("America's first edible cash crop") to South Carolina. He also resurfaces lesser-known figures, including Mustafa Azemmouri, who "explore more of the North American continent than Lewis or Clark." An enslaved African, Azemmouri survived the arduous Narváez expedition of 1527, which included a trek on foot from Florida to Mexico, and was subsequently commissioned by the king of Spain to lead his own expedition into what is now the American Southwest. Also profiled are Jemmy, the West African leader of the 1739 Stono Rebellion in Charleston, S.C., and Rosetta Tharpe, the pioneering musician and "godmother" of rock and roll. Both entertainingly colloquial and impressively erudite, this meticulous survey of the American past is an invaluable resource. Educators should take note.
