Description: This collection explores the role of African American arts in shaping the future, and further informing new directions we might take in honoring and protecting the success of African Americans in the U.S. The essays engage readers in critical conversations by activists, scholars, and artists reflecting on national and transnational legacies of African-American activism as an element of artistic practice, particularly as they concern artistic expression and race relations, and the intersections of creative processes with economic, sociological, and psychological inequalities.
Review Quotes: "Three essays will be especially noteworthy for readers new to this topic: Abby Dobson's "From Baldwin to Beyoncé," Lucy Caplan's 'Race and History on the Operatic Stage, ' and Jasmine Coles and Tawnya Pettiford-Wates's 'The Conciliation Project as a Social Experiment.' The last of these explores 'Uncle Tom-ism' as portrayed in minstrel shows and deconstructs the bipolar extremes of the good versus bad slave. Recommended." -- "Choice"