W. E. B. Du Bois was a public intellectual; sociologist; and activist on behalf of the African American community. He profoundly shaped black political culture in the United States through his founding role in the NAACP; as well as internationally through the Pan-African movement. Du Bois's sociological and historical research on African-American communities and culture broke ground in many areas; including the history of the post-Civil War Reconstruction period. Du Bois was also a prolific author of novels; autobiographical accounts; innumerable editorials and journalistic pieces; and several works of history.Du Bois called his epic Black Flame trilogy a fiction of interpretation. It acts as a representative biography of African American history by following one man; Manuel Mansart; from his birth in 1876 until his death. The Black Flame attempts to use this historical fiction of interpretation to recast and revisit the African American experience. Readers will appreciate The Black Flame trilogy as a clear articulation of Du Bois's perspective at the end of his life.The last book in this profound trilogy; Worlds of Color; opens when Mansart is sixty and a successful and established college president. Packed with political intrigue; romance; and social commentary; the book provides a dark; cynical view of the world and its relationship to the "Black Flame;" or the potential of black civilization. Building upon the drama of the previous two books; Worlds of Color delves into a more sinister; bleak; and doubtful future. With a series introduction by editor Henry Louis Gates; Jr.; and an introduction by Brent Hayes Edwards; this edition is essential for anyone interested in African American literature.
#1011678 in Books Balmer Randall Herbert 2014-09-18 2014-09-18Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 5.50 x 1.30 x 8.00l; .0 #File Name: 0199360464432 pagesMine Eyes Have Seen the Glory A Journey Into the Evangelical Subculture in America
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Religious Travelogue at its BestBy Frank BellizziIn the prologue to his classic study of conservative Protestantism in late twentieth-century America; Randall Balmer writes: "This is a book about popular evangelicalism; a kind of travelogue into the evangelical subculture in America; a subculture that encompasses fundamentalists; charismatics; and pentecostals" (4-5). With that; he launches into a series of chapters; each one taking him to a different place; each one offering him a different slice of his topic. A few highlights:Chapter 1; "California Kickback;" recounts a 1987 visit to Calvary Chapel; an evangelical mega-church in Santa Ana; California. Under the leadership of pastor Chuck Smith; the church took off in the 1970s when leaders began preaching to washouts from the hippie counterculture in Southern California. As Balmer describes it; the church seems to have taken on certain aspects of the counterculture. At least some long-time members of the congregation are "Jesus people" from the 70s. Yet; Calvary Chapel attracts a remarkably wide variety of folks; attesting to the fact that the church is something much more than a big group of "hippies for Christ."The setting for Chapter 5; "Adirondack Fundamentalism;" is thousands of miles from Southern California: Word of Life Fellowship on Schroon Lake in upstate New York. Balmer describes Word of Life's summer Bible camp for teens in the summer of 1987. He chronicles some of the awkward; anxious religious lives of kids growing up in a devout Protestant home. He also discusses the historic issue of transmitting a vibrant faith from one generation to the next.Chapter 14; "Oregon Jeremiad;" tells the story of Balmer's 1986 visit to the Oregon Extension of Trinity College. Trinity is located in the suburbs of Chicago; while the small Western extension school is in Lincoln; Oregon; at a former logging camp in the Cascade Mountains. The extension and small church there; as Balmer describes the community; is a refuge for smart but sort-of-odd people who wouldn't fit in very well in one of the power centers of American evangelicalism; and who wouldn't want to.Chapter 15; "Prime Time" was written in 1998; ten years after Jimmy Swaggart's public fall from grace following the discovery of his voyeuristic involvement with more than one prostitute. Balmer visited the Family Life Center in Baton Rouge; Louisiana; Swaggart's church. According to the author's description; Donnie Swaggart; the son of the evangelist; became contentious when Balmer told him he was there on assignment to write an article for Christianity Today magazine. By contrast; Jimmy was very gracious and likable. (After the worship service; Balmer accidentally met up with the Swaggarts at a nearby restaurant). Balmer describes what the church and college campus looked like then. Only about 45 students attended Swaggart's college. Not many people attended the church services; and the sprawling campus of Jimmy Swaggart Ministries was poorly maintained.Those were; in my opinion; some of the more engaging chapters. But there are over a dozen more. In the "Afterword: Twenty-Five Years Later;" written in 2014; Balmer revisits some of the places he'd gone to and people he had spoken with a quarter century before. It's an interesting version of "Where are they now?" I suspect that Balmer's work has appealed to so many readers through the years because it smoothly and consistently brings together four qualities: vivid description; historical context; penetrating analysis; and the author's own personal reflections.0 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Good read. Served the purposeBy Harold O'Neal SimpsonGot it n time. Good read. Served the purpose.
