Born a slave in Virginia in 1856, Booker T. Washington rose in prominence to become black America's foremost spokesman. This is the dramatic autobiographical account of Washington's struggle to succeed and prosper in a country that refused to acknowledge his existence. From his fight for an education to his founding of the world-renowned Tuskegee Institute, Up From Slavery is one of the most significant and defining works in American literature. A...

Based on an important work of African oral literature, the Sundjata epic. When a dj�eliba, a master griot or bard, arrives mysteriously at the home of Mabo Ke�ita to teach him "the meaning of his name," the boy and griot are inevitably brought into conflict with his Westernized mother and schoolteacher, who have rejected African tradition. The griot reveals to Mabo the story of his distant ancestor, Sundjata Ke�ita, the 13th century founder...

"In this book, historian J. Todd Moye masterfully reconstructs Baker's life and contribution for a new generation of readers. Those who despair that the civil rights story is told too often from the top down and at the dearth of accessible works on women who helped shape the movement will welcome this new addition to the Library of African American biography series, designed to provide concise, readable, and up-to-date lives of leading black figures...