Hard road to freedom - James O. Horton

"Hard Road to Freedom" is a comprehensive history of African Americans, from the very first settlements to the political and technological upheavals of the 21st century. In telling the story of black people in America the authors range far beyond issues of slavery to a wider tale of determined struggle, disappointment and success. James Oliver Horton and Lois Horton document the efforts of African Americans to achieve racial equality throughout all of US history, and they clearly demonstrate the contributions that African Americans have made to the country as a whole. Their copious use of primary-source materials - autobiographies, illustrations, and historical documents - brings to life this gripping tale of unquenchable courage in the face of innumerable obstacles.;"Hard Road to Freedom" presents the study of black people in America as an expression of one of this nation's fundamental principles, the pursuit of liberty. The book begins with African cultures and the slave trade. Later, the Age of Revolution equivocated on the promise of freedom to African Americans - a promise raised along with the colonists' cries for liberty. The book documents African Americans' insistence that their adopted country live up to its founding principles within the context of a spatially - and racially - divided society. The Civil War did end slavery, but it brought an ambiguous and precarious freedom. The promise of Reconstruction faded into southern segregation policed by organized terrorism.;In turning to the 20th century, the book highlights many images and events: attempts to create interracial alliances among farmers and industrial workers; a sophisticated cultural renaissance in northern cities; the struggles against Jim Crow among African American soldiers during World War II; southern resistance to civil rights demands; the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.; and the Black Power movement.;In the late 20th century, with most of the world's wars safely abroad, but with riots and upheavals at home, the Hortons note the political backlash that brought into power racial and economic conservatives. These politicians and lobbyists advocated a "colour blind" emphasis on individual rights in their debates with those pleading for a continual focus on racial equality. Yet there are hopeful signs. Most Americans today are aware of the nation's racial and cultural diversity, and more African Americans hold political and economic power today than ever before.;There is still much more work to be done.