The African American Story: The events that shaped our nation and the people who changed our lives - Hardcover

Written by Joy Masoff author of WE ARE ALL AMERICANS, MALI: LAND OF GOLD & GLORY, and the OUR WORLD series of books for Virginia elementary level social studies.

Combining the sweep of more than 500 years of history with details about leaders and landmark events, this handsome overview is a great way to introduce readers to the African American story. Archival portraits, full-color paintings, maps, charts, and insets on every double-page spread illustrate the chatty text, which is occasionally too exclamatory ("It was getting so complicated!"). But Masoff packs in an immense amount of history--covering slavery and the anguish of people torn from their loved ones through the Civil War, the Harlem Renaissance, and the civil rights movement right up to the state of things today. There's even a portrait of presidential-hopeful Barack Obama. Masoff is honest about the long struggle and the extraordinary success, but she is also clear about the discrimination that still exists. A long second section features 80 short biographies of inventors, scientists, actors, athletes, lawmakers, and more. The brief bibliography includes a few Web resources and books divided by grade level. A solid choice for browsing, research, and class discussions. Hazel Rochman
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