Presents biographical information on physicians of African ancestry who practiced in the United States or taught those who practiced in the U.S. between 1800 and 1920. Features almost 3,000 entries that provide the physician's birth and death dates, place of practice, medical school and year of graduation, birthplace, parents, spouse, and children. Includes a geographical index and a general index.

Since 1865 African-American architects have been designing and building houses and public buildings, but the architects are virtually unknown. This work brings their lives and work to light for the first time.

African American Lives offers up-to-date, authoritative biographies of some 600 noteworthy African Americans. These 1,000-3,000 word biographies, selected from over five thousand entries in the forthcoming eight-volume African American National Biography, illuminate African-American history through the immediacy of individual experience. From Esteban, the earliest known African to set foot in North America in 1528, right up to the continuing careers of Venus and Serena Williams, these stories of the renowned and the near forgotten give us a new view of American history. Our past is revealed from personal perspectives that in turn inspire, move, entertain, and even infuriate the reader. Subjects include slaves and abolitionists, writers, politicians, and business people, musicians and dancers, artists and athletes, victims of injustice and the lawyers, journalists, and civil rights leaders who gave them a voice. Their experiences and accomplishments combine to expose the complexity of race as an overriding issue in America's past and present. African American Lives features frequent cross-references among related entries, over 300 illustrations, and a general index, supplemented by indexes organized by chronology, occupation or area of renown, and winners of particular honors such as the Spingarn Medal, Nobel Prize, and Pulitzer Prize.

Clevelanders are rediscovering the richness of their history, and the encyclopedia project has played a vital role in this process. -- Northwest Ohio Quarterly These two volumes clearly establish a standard for encyclopedias devoted to city history and biography. -- Choice Both volumes are interesting to read and are useful reference tools. -- American Reference Books Annual The first edition of this remarkable encyclopedia was published in 1987 to enthusiastic reviews. Out of print for several years, the Encyclopedia is now being reissued in an expanded, two-volume format to commemorate the bicentennial of Cleveland's founding. Volume One, The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, contains more than 2000 entries, 150 photographs, maps and charts. Volume Two, the Dictionary of Cleveland Biography, with over 1600 entries, is the first major biographical guide to Cleveland published since the 1920s.

The Harlem Renaissance is the best known and most widely studied cultural movement in African American history. Now, in Harlem Renaissance Lives, esteemed scholars Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham have selected 300 key biographical entries culled from the eight-volume African American National Biography, providing an authoritative who's who of this seminal period. Here readers will find engagingly written and authoritative articles on notable African Americans who made significant contributions to literature, drama, music, visual art, or dance, including such central figures as poet Langston Hughes, novelist Zora Neale Hurston, aviator Bessie Coleman, blues singer Ma Rainey, artist Romare Bearden, dancer Josephine Baker, jazzman Louis Armstrong, and the intellectual giant W. E. B. Du Bois. Also included are biographies of people like the Scottsboro Boys, who were not active within the movement but who nonetheless profoundly affected the artistic and political statements that came from Harlem Renaissance figures. The volume will also feature a preface by the editors, an introductory essay by historian Cary D. Wintz, and 75 illustrations.

The Encyclopedia of African Cultural Heritage in North America provides an accessible ready reference on the retention and continuity of African culture within the United States. Our conceptual framework holds, first, that culture is a form of self-knowledge and knowledge about self in the world as transmitted from one person to another. Second, that African people continuously create their own cultural history as they move through time and space. Third, that African descended people living outside of Africa are also contributors to and participate in the creation of African cultural history. Entries focus on illuminating Africanisms (cultural retentions traceable to an African origin) and cultural continuities (ongoing practices and processes through which African culture continues to be created and formed). Thus, the focus is more culturally specific and less concerned with the broader transatlantic demographic, political and geographic issues that are the focus of similar recent reference works. We also focus less on biographies of individuals and political and economic ties and more on processes and manifestations of African cultural heritage and continuity. FEATURES: A two-volume A-to-Z work, available in a choice of print or electronic formats 350 signed entries, each concluding with Cross-references and Further Readings 150 figures and photos Front matter consisting of an Introduction and a Reader’s Guide organizing entries thematically to more easily guide users to related entries Signed articles concluding with cross-references

Since 1619, when Africans first came ashore in the swampy Chesapeake region of Virginia, there have been many individuals whose achievements or strength of character in the face of monumental hardships have called attention to the genius of the African American people. This book attempts to distill from many wonderful possibilities the 100 most outstanding examples of greatness. Pioneering scholar of African American Studies Molefi Kete Asante has used four criteria in his selection: the individual''s significance in the general progress of African Americans toward full equality in the American social and political system; self-sacrifice and the demonstration of risk for the collective good; unusual will and determination in the face of the greatest danger or against the most stubborn odds; and personal achievement that reveals the best qualities of the African American people. In adopting these criteria Professor Asante has sought to steer away from the usual standards of popular culture, which often elevates the most popular, the wealthiest, or the most photogenic to the cult of celebrity. The individuals in this book - examples of lasting greatness as opposed to the ephemeral glare of celebrity fame - come from four centuries of African American history. Each entry includes brief biographical information, relevant dates, an assessment of the individual''s place in African American history with particular reference to a historical timeline, and a discussion of his or her unique impact on American society. Numerous pictures and illustrations will accompany the articles. This superb reference work will complement any library and be of special interest to students and scholars of American and African American history.

The 10 volumes of The Young Oxford History of African Americans describe how black Americans shaped and changed the history of this nation. Starting in 1502, more than a century before the day in 1619 when 19 Africans stepped off a Dutch ship in Jamestown, Virginia, the series ends with the relationship between West Indian immigrants and African Americans in large cities like New York in the late 20th century. This ready reference provides the perfect ending to a comprehensive history of African Americans. Included are the master index for the series and an extensive list of historic sites and museums related to the history of African Americans. The bulk of the volume, however, contains the personal histories of many of the people who appear in the previous 10 volumes. Each biography takes a close look at the famous and the lesser-known, revealing the backgrounds, experiences, and contributions of African Americans who were involved in the key events in American history. In addition to well-known facts, the biographies include much here that will surprise and fascinate readers. Muhammad Ali's brash and playful public persona earned him the nickname the "Louisville Lip"; Bill Cosby got his start while working in a Philadelphia coffee-house; and Madam C. J. Walker owned a mail-order and beauty school company that became one of the most profitable independently-owned businesses in the country around 1910. The portraits are as varied as the history itself, setting former slaves next to committed civil rights workers, prize-winning poets next to successful politicians. Volume 11 of The Young Oxford History of African Americans completes the fascinating and compelling story of nearly five centuries of African-American history. It is an exceptional resource for young adults and all who value the remarkable accomplishments of African Americans.