| In addition to the rich and varied history of Africans on their ancestral continent, this encyclopedia chronicles Africans who were captured and sold as slaves to the far corners of the earth. A small number of these involuntary emigrants from the continent (or their descendants) were able to return to Africa after years of absence. Within the last century particularly since the decolonization of Africa Africans have been studying and living in many nations throughout the world. People now refer to this movement of African people to and from the continent for over a millennium as the "African diaspora." |
| This volume provides thorough yet succinct information about Africans who remained on the continent as well as those in the diaspora. The author concentrates most of her attention on indigenous Africans and blacks in the United States but also includes information about descendants of the African motherland who were involuntary and voluntary immigrants to the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Although most of the individuals described herein were intellectual, political, military, scientific, or educational leaders, the author also gives careful attention to musicians, artists, literary figures, and athletes. |
| Almost all of the subjects covered in the brief entries of this text offer a gateway to extensive further study. Along with the carefully distilled information about each subject, some entries include bibliographic information about biographies, historical works, artistic and musical expressions, and literary accomplishments. Full-length autobiographies and biographies are available for most of the individuals described in this volume. The bibliography at the end of the text suggests additional sources for the study of the history and culture of the people of the African diaspora. Most local public libraries could supply interested students with rich additional material on the subjects covered in this encyclopedia. Research libraries at major universities may yield more in-depth sources for the study of the African diaspora as will the invaluable resources at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. |
| Although many who pick up this volume will use it only as a reference work and peruse just a few entries at a time, I recommend that any who are sincerely interested in learning about the African diaspora curl up and read this work from cover to cover as I did. Not, I should add, because this is not an excellent reference work, it is, but because it affords such a thorough introduction to the subject. I have been a student of the African diaspora for almost three decades, yet I met men and women on the pages of this volume whose acquaintance I had not made in the annals of the National Archives or the Library of Congress. Susan Altman is a compelling author who breathes life into this history for her readers. |
 | Debra Newman Ham
Professor of History,
Morgan State University |
|
