DescriptionJames Baldwin, the preeminent writer on black and white America, reads 2 scenes from Just Above My Head, his 1979 novel, which may have been inspired by the life and death of singer Sam Cooke. The first excerpt is the opening scene from the novel, and the second is the narrator's crucial childhood memory of his brother and their father. Widely regarded as one of the world's finest essayists, Baldwin created a rich body of work during his lifetime, including 7 novels, 5 volumes of essays, 3 plays, and 2 collections of short fiction. The readings included here were recorded in 1984 at Amherst, where Baldwin was teaching at the time. Please note that Baldwin has a distinct style of speaking, which can be hard to understand at times.
DescriptionRex M. Ellis weaves the strands of African folklore, early American history, and contemporary interpretations into the rich quilt that is the African-American experience.His stories spin a thread from the Windward Coast of West Africa to the shores of Jamestown and beyond. He uses storytelling as both a historical teaching tool and a method for dealing with controversial subjects. Ellis' unique style of storytelling educates, informs, and entertains while building bridges of understanding and respect between different cultural groups. For Ages Nine to Adult…
DescriptionAfter returning to the cotton fields, tobacco barns, and humble dwelling places of her ancestral home in North Carolina, Lorraine Johnson-Coleman learned first hand what is missing from the history books about African-American culture: the experience of ordinary people who have led extraordinary lives. In this heartwarming collection of short stories and essays, Johnson-Coleman pays tribute to such plain folks . From the front porch to the shanty steps, she introduces us to the kin folks and the home folks, the caretakers and the waymakers and reminds us that it isn't so much about where we are that's important, but where we have come from.
DescriptionOne of America's favorite African-American storytellers remembers her childhood in tender, unforgettable new stories. Jackie Torrence, a frequent headliner at the National Storytelling Festival, is known to audiences nationwide as The Story Lady. She has performed at The Kennedy Center, Wolftrap, Colonial Williamsburg, the International Children's Festival, the Chicago Blues Festival, and at Lincoln Center. You'll hear: "My Grandmother's Treasure", "The Big Cotton Patch", "Miss Maetroy's Flower Bed", "The Strawberry Pie", "My Granddaddy's Haint", and "The Funeral".
DescriptionIn this lively, varied program Amir Baraka combines lecture, poetry, and question and answer discussion to get to the heart of the Ebonics controversy. His wide ranging talk - recorded at the University of Maine - includes discussion of Ebonics as black language and its influence on American speech, and touches on a variety of other topics, including W.E.B. DuBois, O.J. Simpson, and reflections on visiting Atlanta during the 1996 Olympics. Also included are several provocative short poems, whose style Baraka refers to as "low-ku."…
DescriptionIn Mules and Men, some of the rich cultural heritage of black America is revealed and preserved. In the 1930s, Zora Neale Hurston returned to her home town of Eatonville, Florida, to collect and record the oral histories, songs, and sermons, many dating back to slavery times, that she remembered hearing as a child. These highly metaphorical folktales, "big old lies", and powerful songs helped her to recover her history, and preserve an important part of American culture. The unique heritage of African-Americans, presented here with imagination, humor, and wisdom, has tremendous value for students of cultural history, as well as to anyone who loves a good story well told. This recording features Ruby Dee, a member of the Theatre Hall of Fame and actress in A Raisin in the Sun on Broadway and Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing .
