Each year as we revisit the civil rights movement and the contributions of African-Americans, those of us old enough to remember the movement and the violent and turbulent decade of the 1960s, will recall vivid memories of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X and the Black Panther Party, among others. The movement contained dozens of highly gifted and intellectual activists whose rhetoric and charisma often galvanized an entire audience. Among these gifted orators was Stokely Carmichael, later known as Kwame Ture. Although he died on November 15, 1998 after a battle with prostate cancer, his legacy continues and he is remembered by many as one of the most passionate and controversial voices at the time.
The native of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, left a mark on America, even after relocating to Guinea under the government of Ahmed Sékou Touré. As we look back on his life in this phenomenal biography by Peniel E. Joseph, we are able to revisit a life that was nothing short of extraordinary and spanned across three continents. Present at nearly every major event of the movement and associate of many of its pioneers, his actions and movements resulted in both praise and consternation from his peers. His fiery and passionate speeches, encouraging armed struggle, earned him the wrath of several presidents and a spot on the FBI’s list of racial radicals. He was so despised, that the U.S. government even attempted to prevent him from leaving the country. And throughout all of this and much more, Carmichael remained committed to the struggle with the full intent of overturning what he saw as an unjust and morally corrupt government and society.
Reading about icons is never easy for that they have as many negative traits as they do positive. We sometimes make them out to be larger than life but in the process often forget that they are also human. Failed romances, a troubled marriage, adultery and accusations of misogyny, plagued Carmichael throughout his life. And for some of his peers, his words were far more extreme than they were willing to accept. Thoroughly researched and presented in an engaging style that keeps the reading stuck to the pages, the book is a gem and a pleasure to read. In publishing this masterful work, Joseph as done a service to Carmichael’s legacy. We also revisit the friendships and enemies that were mainstays of his life which including Eldridge Cleaver, Huey P. Newton, Martin Luther King, Jr., Idi Amin and Harry Belafonte to name a few. And is through these relationships and the public battles he waged, that Kwame Ture was eventually born.
His tragic death at the age of 57, prevented him from seeing the results from the monumental efforts put forth by activists and Carmichael himself. If he were alive today, perhaps he would still be calling for Pan-Africanism and armed struggled. But I do believe he would feel vindicated by his prior radical beliefs. Jim Crow has long been demolished and America has made great strides in living up to the reputation as the land of freedom and democracy. Far from perfect, the nation continues to reexamine itself in the effort to move forward progressively. And as we do move forward, Stokely’s words will be there to remind us of the pitfalls of oppression and ignorance. He will always been controversial to many but we can all agree that he remains one of the most colorful and dynamic figures in the history of the civil rights movement.
ISBN-10: 0465013635
ISBN-13: 978-0465013630
January 12, 2017 will mark fifty-two years since Lorraine Vivian Hansberry (1930-1965) died at the age of thirty-four after a long battle with intestinal cancer. Her masterpiece A Raisin In The Sun and the Broadway play of the same name, broke new ground in America for African-American playwrights. In fact, her play was the first by an African-American woman to have a run on Broadway. The story of the Younger family has been played out in cities all over the country as people have desired to leave their own communities in search of a better quality of life. The book remains her most popular work but just who was the real Lorraine Hansberry? In this biography, Patricia and Fredrick McKissack tell the story of the playwright’s life from start to finish. And what we see is the formation of the one of the most gifted Americans to have ever lived.
The workplace in a sense becomes a second home to the majority of us, and for some of us, they become even closer to us than those with whom we have a biological link. But what happens when you’re an agent in the Secret Service? There is no set eight-hour workday for agents assigned to the first family. Instead, their hours are often unpredictable, long and extremely fatiguing. Nevertheless, the agents do their jobs to the best of their abilities and in the process create bonds with the members of the first family that sometimes remain in place many years after their service has ended. Clint Hill, long retired from the Secret Service, is best remembered by many people from the Zapruder film, in which he is the sole agent that attempts to come to the aid of the president as jumps on the back of the motorcade as the Secret Service transports a mortally wounded John F. Kennedy to Parkland Memorial Hospital. He has written several books on his time as a Secret Service agent with several presidents and the events that took place during that fateful trip to Dallas, Texas. This is his memoir of his time with the former first lady and the relationship that developed.
On July 26, 1947, President Harry S. Truman signs the National Security Act, establish a new intelligence agency to gather information deemed critical to the protection of the United States from foreign threats. The new agency is known as the Central Intelligence Agency and its initial members are former members of the Office of Strategic Services which had been discontinued following the allied Victory in World War II. As the Cold War heated up with the Soviet Union and new leaders came to light in several continents, the members of the new agency felt a surging sense to act preemptively to what was perceived to be direct threats to the safety and stability of the western hemisphere. Among the large number of those afraid of Communist infiltration and the end of U.S. business interest were two brothers who controlled an overwhelming majority of power over U.S. foreign policy whose names today are largely unknown to the younger generation. John Foster and Allen Welsh Dulles, the former Secretary of State and Director of the C.I.A., remain controversial and pivotal figures in 20th century American history. In this expose about their time in high posts within the U.S. government, author Stephen Kinzer reveals the dark side of the U.S. government as two brothers used the White House, military and Central Intelligence Agency to advance their financial agenda across several continents resulting in the overthrow of governments, assassination of foreign leaders and financial exploitation of smaller nations caught in the grip of U.S. occupation.
Prior to his death from cancer, Jack Ruby, the convicted murdered of Lee Harvey Oswald who executed his prey live on national television, once remarked that to get answers in the murder of John F. Kennedy, it would wise to ask the man currently in office. That man as we all know was Lyndon B. Johnson. In most history classes, Lyndon Johnson or LBJ for short, is seen as a pioneering president, responsible for the passage of the monumental Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, what is often looked over is his role in the escalation of the U.S. military in southeast Asia resulting in the Vietnam War. As the body count of American soldiers climbed, his approval rate dropped to absurdly low levels, possibly the worst in recent history. And the announcement of Robert Kennedy for candidacy for president served as a final nail in the coffin forcing Johnson to withdraw his name in the 1968 presidential race. Many years after his death, the true story of the life of Lyndon Johnson has come to light in dozens of books. And what we learn through each of these books is that there was a very dark side to the 36th President of the United States.
The story of the continent of Africa is one of the most beautiful and tragic we have ever seen. The mass of land that has been described as the cradle of civilization and home to some of the most beautiful places on earth, has also been subjected to severe colonization resulting in continuing poverty, tribal and cultural division and civil wars that nearly destroyed several countries as millions of people lost their lives before the genocidal campaigns were brought to a halt. The story of Rwanda is largely well-known, from books and even a feature film, ‘Hotel Rwanda’ starring Don Cheadle. Rwanda, however, is not the only country to experience a crisis of that nature and as we learn in this memoir by Ishmael Beah, Sierra Leone also has a dark history of internal conflict which caused the nation to be considered one of the most dangerous places in the world. And even to this day, their dark past continues to remain relevant.
February 25, 1986-Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos and wife Imelda, relinquish power and flee into exile in fear of prosecution for embezzlement and election fraud. The former first couple were airlifted from the presidential palace due to growing crowds of demonstrators intent on the removal of the despotic couple. Their reign of power is still one of the most infamous in modern history and the effects of their tyrannical and avaricious administration are still being felt today in the Philippines as the country still struggles with the remnants the Marcos’ rule. Myles A. Garcia, a native of the Philippines who relocated to the United States revisits the rule of the couple and the staggering amount of corruption that occurred under their rule.
October 8, 2017 will mark 50 years since Ernesto “Che” Guevara died in the jungles of Bolivia as he attempted to spread revolutionary ideology throughout Latin America. The legendary and iconic symbol for revolution around the world became a martyr in the process and to this day, his image can be found on posters, hats, shirts and even coffee mugs. His final campaign to bring revolution to Bolivia and the tragic fate that awaited him is one of the defining stories of the 20th century. Guevara, the razor-sharp Argentine intellectual, posed a threat to the dominance of imperialism throughout Latin America and in particular was a deadly threat to the business interests of United States businessmen. His death brings a sigh of relief to many governments around the world and deals a devastating blow the Castro regime in Cuba. Che, although no longer legally a citizen of Cuba at that point, is finally returned home 30 years after his death, when he is returned with several other revolutionaries in 1997 and buried in Santa Clara.
As November slowly approaches this year, the anniversary of one of America’s darkest moments will be upon us once again as we remember the tragic death of the late John F. Kennedy. His murder continues to stay with us and to this day it is technically an unsolved murder in that his alleged assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was never convicted in a court of law. He had been accused of murdering both President Kennedy and Dallas Police Officer J.D. Tippit, and convicted in the court of public opinion through misstatements and so-called evidence that wouldn’t hold up in a court of law. And as author Gary Fannin points out, for over 50 years, lies, deception and deceit continue to be propagated making the truth of the matter seemingly harder and harder to unravel.
FREETHINKING BIBLIOPHILE 
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