xxxiv IntroductionAfrican Diaspora, and the contested nature of the early Af-
rican presence in America. More specifi cally, it documents
the political and cultural environment in which both black
enslavement and the black freedom struggle were born.
Culture, Identity, and Community:
From Slavery to the Present
Perhaps more than any other portion of this project, section
two investigates and celebrates the power and resilience of
African cultural forms in the context of American society.
Spanning centuries of African American art, music, dance,
spirituality, and forms of resistance—ranging from folk-
tales, religious expression, linguistic forms, jazz music, and
soul food—this section seeks to illuminate the dynamic,
creative, and spirited ways in which African Americans
remained connected to their African heritage despite the
horrors of enslavement, segregation, and racial discrimina-
tion. As Walter Rucker reveals in his introductory essay,
there has been a lively and contentious scholarly debate
about the existence, form, and meaning of African cul-
tural retentions in African American life. Yet section two
demonstrates that African cultural continuities not only
survived the devastating ordeal of enslavement, but served
as unifying forces among Africans in America that helped
create a sense of identity, racial solidarity, a spirit of resis-
tance, a strong spiritual legacy, and a vibrant musical and
literary tradition.
Political Activity and Resistance
to Oppression: From the American
Revolution to the Civil War
In many ways, sections three and four are in conversation
with each other; they are intertwined and are essentially ex-
tensions of one another. Section three explores the nature
of black political resistance in the early national and ante-
bellum eras, giving particular attention to themes of self-
determination, early Black Nationalism, abolition, and the
fi ght for citizenship. As historian Demetrius Eudell notes
in the introductory essay, the black freedom struggle dur-
ing this era was heavily infl uenced by Revolutionary War
rhetoric, which provided a common political language for
the spirit of freedom among enslaved Africans and the de-
sire for independence among white settlers. Even so, how-
ever, most American rebels were not ready to acknowledge
the ways in which the existence of slavery belied the ideal
of freedom. Th us, this was a pivotal moment in African
American history and American history more broadly; for
while the American Revolution and the subsequent forma-
tion of the United States symbolized the triumph of democ-
racy, it also solidifi ed the institution of slavery and black
subjugation. As this section illustrates, however, African
Americans continued to draw upon their African cultural
heritage to enrich and sustain their fi ght for freedom, jus-
tice, and equality.Political Activity, Migration, and
Urbanization: Reconstruction, Civil
Rights, and Modern African America
Th e fi nal section of this project begins where part three
concludes—the watershed moment when African Ameri-
cans were fi nally released from legal bondage, but were si-
multaneously stymied by the stubborn tenacity of American
racism. As African Americans emerged from slavery, they
were faced with new forms of discrimination; most nota-
bly, the rise of Jim Crow segregation. Indeed, the paradox
of American society persisted; while white Americans es-
poused notions of democracy and freedom, African Ameri-
cans languished as they suff ered through disfranchisement,
segregation, lynch law, and economic deprivation. Th is ob-
vious contradiction became even more painfully clear dur-
ing World War II when African American men were sent
to fi ght for freedom and democracy abroad, even as their
brothers and sisters faced continual persecution at home.
Yet the river of freedom continued to fl ow. In fact, by the
middle of the 20th century, the black freedom struggle be-
came a raging torrent. Th e Civil Rights and Black Power
movements burst onto the American political landscape, ir-
revocably transforming it. In the fi nal analysis, this era was
a testimony to the perseverance of the African American
spirit, and the indestructible desire to attain the freedom,
justice, and equality that was promised to all of America’s
citizens.Conclusion
Th e story of African American history is clearly rooted
in struggle and, ultimately, as Vincent Harding suggested,
this struggle—the river of resistance—is both fundamen-
tally human and uniquely African American. While the