In this history of the black peasants of Amazonia, Oscar de la Torre focuses on the experience of African-descended people navigating the transition from slavery to freedom. He draws on social and environmental history to connect them intimately to the natural landscape and to Indigenous peoples. Relying on this world as a repository for traditions, discourses, and strategies that they retrieved especially in moments of conflict, Afro-Brazilians fought for autonomous communities and developed a vibrant ethnic identity that supported their struggles over labor, land, and citizenship. Prior to abolition, enslaved and escaped blacks found in the tropical forest a source for tools, weapons, and trade--but it was also a cultural storehouse within which they shaped their stories and records of confrontations with slaveowners and state authorities. After abolition, the black peasants' knowledge of local environments continued to be key to their aspirations, allowing them to maintain relationships with powerful patrons and to participate in the protest cycle that led Getulio Vargas to the presidency of Brazil in 1930. In commonly referring to themselves by such names as "sons of the river," black Amazonians melded their agro-ecological traditions with their emergent identity as political stakeholders.

Oscar Micheaux—the most prolific African American filmmaker to date and a filmmaking giant of the silent period—has finally found his rightful place in film history. Both artist and showman, Micheaux stirred controversy in his time as he confronted issues such as lynching, miscegenation, peonage and white supremacy, passing, and corruption among black clergymen. In this important collection, prominent scholars examine Micheaux's surviving silent films, his fellow producers of race films who alternately challenged or emulated his methods, and the cultural activities that surrounded and sustained these achievements. The relationship between black film and both the stage (particularly the Lafayette Players) and the black press, issues of underdevelopment, and a genealogy of Micheaux scholarship, as well as extensive and more accurate filmographies, give a richly textured portrait of this era. The essays will fascinate the general public as well as scholars in the fields of film studies, cultural studies, and African American history. This thoroughly readable collection is a superb reference work lavishly illustrated with rare photographs.

This Book Outlines.........●The creative power of your thoughts and words.●The power of the mind and how it works.●The programming of the mind and its adverse effects.●How to get your mind out of prison and put it on a purposeful path.●How to be a slave to a winning mentality thereby creating the destiny you want. etc. The biggest and the most dangerous form of prison is not those in physical prison but a mind that is in prison. Some people are in a physical prison, but their minds are not in prison and some have freedom, but their minds are in prison. That is why a prisoner can be released from prison and become successful but the one who has never been to prison will still be struggling. The power of the mind has been underestimated for far too long. Many don't work on their mind. The mind is like a muscle, the more you work on it, the tougher it becomes to handle difficult and challenging situations that can cause you to quit in pursuit of life and your vision. The reason many succumb to challenges in life is that they haven't trained their mind to handle the battles they encounter. Success and failure start in the mind. You are already defeated or successful in your mind before you take a step. This is the reason why some people can have all the resources needed in pursuit of their vision but still fail because their mind is not set to succeed. That is, they doubt their abilities and that becomes established in real life that impacts their success. Others also can have scarce resources but because of their winning mentality, they can use it to build their vision to a successful venture. This means that lack of success is not a means to success likewise an abundance of resources. Therefore, your mindset is very critical to your success in life irrespective of the resources at your disposal. This book teaches you how to work on your mind and to use your mind to build a strong foundation for a successful venture. I want to reiterate the fact that everyone one of us are programmed in one way or the other. The worse form of programming is the programming of the mind. That is when the mind is designed to work on autopilot where a person acts consciously or unconsciously especially on a negative thought. A typical example is a negative affirmation of a phrase like 'it's not easy' consciously or unconsciously. When your thoughts become your words, it transitions to the level when your actions lead to a habitual lifestyle that can eventually lead to your character, which will define your destiny. This is why this book is designed to work on your mind to move you from the prison of the mind to a purposeful life where you positively impact your life, community and the world at large. Your destiny is in your own hands depending on what mindset you develop. Develop a mindset that drives a winning mentality and success in the pursuit of your life and vision will be a lifestyle.Remember, it's possible if only you believe.

Over the course of forty years, Oscar Norwich accumulated the world's greatest private collection of African maps. This catalog comprises a record of foreign knowledge of the continent from the "Age of Exploration" to modern times, and demonstrates how the rest of the world was quick to learn the shape of the African continent but slow to grasp the realities of its interior. From the fabulous creatures depicted on early maps to the blank "regions unknown" of later ones, from those that depicted the kingdom of the legendary Prester John to maps as late as the 19th century that still featured the imaginary Mountains of Kong, this collection documents a long and troubled history of developing knowledge of the continent. Each map is illustrated and carefully described, including bibliographical citations. Originally published in 1983, the book has been revised and edited by Jeffrey Stone for this second edition.

The murder trial of Oscar Pistorius will rivet the world's attention in a way no other case has since another famous sportsman, O.J. Simpson, was tried for the murder of his ex-wife in 1994. John Carlin brings his own extensive knowledge of South Africa and access to Pistorius himself, as well as to his friends and family, after the death of Reeva Steenkamp to tell the story of the rise and fall of a classically tragic hero.

"Rich in imagery and the detail of small-town life and haunting in its portrayal of ordinary men and women struggling to understand loss. Under Mr. Banks's restrained craftsmanship, what begins as the story of senseless tragedy is transformed into an aspiring testament to hope and human resilience." — Atlanta Constitution In The Sweet Hereafter, Russell Banks tells a story that begins with a school bus accident. Using four different narrators, Banks creates a small-town morality play that addresses one of life's most agonizing questions: when the worst thing happens, who do you blame? Here is a stunning novel of "compelling moral suspense" (Los Angeles Times Book Review) from one of America's greatest storytellers.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, 1982 A black sergeant cries out in the night, "They still hate you," then is shot twice and falls dead. Set in 1944 at Fort Neal, a segregated army camp in Louisiana, Charles Fuller's forceful drama--which has been regularly seen in both its original stage and its later screen version starring Denzel Washington--tracks the investigation of this murder. But A Soldier's Play is more than a detective story: it is a tough, incisive exploration of racial tensions and ambiguities among blacks and between blacks and whites that gives no easy answers and assigns no simple blame.

At the 2007 Academy Awards® ceremony, an unprecedented number of Black performers received acting nominations, and two of the statues awarded that evening went to Forest Whitaker and Jennifer Hudson. Indeed, since 2000, more African Americans have received Oscars than in the previous century. While the last few years have seen more and more Black performers receive acknowledgment by the Academy, it hasn't always been that way. African Americans and the Oscar®: Decades of Struggle and Achievement highlights the advancements Black performers have made on the silver screen and how those performances were honored by the Academy. In the Academy's first 40 years, less than ten African Americans were cited for their work on screen and only two, Hattie McDaniel and Sidney Poitier, received competitive awards before the 1980s. This book profiles all the nominees and recipients of the coveted award in the acting, writing, and directing categories, beginning with the first: McDaniel's Best Supporting Actress win for her role in Gone with the Wind (1939). Each entry, organized chronologically and by name, provides valuable information about how the role or film was viewed during its time and also places it in historical context by drawing connections to other related awards or events in film history. In the introduction, Mapp's overview of the nomination process helps explain the historically low percentage of African Americans who have been nominated or received the honor. Also, appendixes provide lists of non-acting/directing nominees and winners, overlooked performances, and performers of nominated songs. Highlighting the achievements of Sidney Poitier, Whoopi Goldberg, Halle Berry, Morgan Freeman, Spike Lee, Jamie Foxx, Denzel Washington and others, this volume provides an enlightening history of the Black experience in Hollywood and will fascinate fans of all ages.

In Out of Africa, author Isak Dinesen takes a wistful and nostalgic look back on her years living in Africa on a Kenyan coffee plantation. Recalling the lives of friends and neighbours—both African and European—Dinesen provides a first-hand perspective of colonial Africa. Through her obvious love of both the landscape and her time in Africa, Dinesen’s meditative writing style deeply reflects the themes of loss as her plantation fails and she returns to Europe. HarperTorch brings great works of non-fiction and the dramatic arts to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperTorch collection to build your digital library.