Freedom on My Mind: The Columbia Documentary History of the African American Experience Book

Freedom on My Mind reveals the richly diverse and complex experience of black people in America in their own words, from the Colonial era of Benjamin Banneker to the present world of Kweisi Mfume and Clarence Thomas. Personal correspondence, excerpts from slave narratives and autobiographies, leaflets, significant addresses and speeches, oral histories and interviews, political manifestos, and important statements of black institutions and organizations throughout history are included. Arranged thematically, all of the sections in this mammoth volume are centered on three central concepts: identity, inequality, and power. The book is also enhanced by a general introduction outlining the subject and principles behind the collection, a brief essay for each of the book´s eight sections, a short introduction to each document, a chronology, a general bibliography, and 75 photos.