Strong Men Keep Coming : The Book of African American Men

by Tonya Bolden

• ISBN13: 9780471252023
• ISBN10: 0471252026
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-03-01
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

AN EPIC, EVOCATIVE HISTORY-FROM JAMESTOWN TO THE MILLION MAN MARCH "In her own special, provocative language, Tonya Bolden gives a voice to the voiceless, a name to the nameless. Revelations abound in Strong Men Keep Coming, her singular take on the endless parade of black men who have fought, sung, cajoled, tricked, worked, wrote, or roped their way into the American experience. . . . She has assembled a most rewarding cast, a phenomenal coterie of role models and phantoms, and she has done a splendid job of telling their stories."-Herb Boyd, coeditor Brotherman: The Odyssey of Black Men in America "Strong Men Keep Coming is long overdue [and] told in glorious detail. Bolden does an excellent job of obtaining information that's hard to come by."-Mosaic "Tonya Bolden has assembled an eccentric, eclectic, and highly readable collection of portraits of black male achievers. Bolden blends heartfelt tributes with humorous anecdotes."-Washington Post Book World Spanning four centuries, Strong Men Keep Coming captures the dynamic essence of the black male experience in America, shedding new light on towering icons like Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Malcolm X, while illuminating the lives of numerous forgotten strivers and pioneers. By turns triumphant and tragic, this vital collection brings to life the strength, courage, and tenacity of a truly remarkable brotherhood of men.

Author Biography

TONYA BOLDEN is the acclaimed author/editor of ten books, including the bestselling 33 Things Every Girl Should Know, The Book of African American Women, Rites of Passage: Stories About Growing Up by Black Writers from Around the World, and And Not Afraid to Dare.

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix	(2)
Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction	1	(2)
Part I: Forefathers	3	(118)
Jiro One of the Jamestown Twenty	5	(2)
Anthony Johnson "Patriarch on Pungoteague Creek"	7	(2)
Coffee Leader of a rebellion	9	(2)
Broteer "Colonial John Henry"	11	(4)
Crispus Attucks Boston Massacre martyr	15	(1)
Salem Poor Patriot in Revolutionary War	16	(1)
Amos Fortune Tanner	17	(2)
Andrew Bryan Baptist minister	19	(1)
Benjamin Banneker Scientist	20	(5)
Tom Molineaux Boxer	25	(2)
Bilali Mohammed Imam	27	(2)
Abraham Camp Would-be emigrationist	29	(1)
James Forten Entrepreneur and abolitionist	30	(3)
Thomas L. Jennings Tailor	33	(2)
Devany Informer on Vesey's conspiracy	35	(1)
Ira Aldridge Actor	36	(2)
Patrick Henry Reason Artist	38	(1)
William Henry Lane Dancer	39	(2)
Robert the Hermit Hermit	41	(3)
David Walker Abolitionist	44	(3)
Nat Turner Leader of a rebellion	47	(1)
Henry Highland Garnet Activist-minister	48	(5)
Josiah Henson The Uncle Tom who ran to freedom	53	(6)
James McCune Smith Physician	59	(3)
Jim Beckwourth Mountain man	62	(3)
William C. Nell Historian	65	(2)
William Still Underground Railroad director	67	(3)
J. P. Ball Photographer	70	(2)
Dred Scott Plaintiff for freedom	72	(3)
James Boon Contractor	75	(4)
Dangerfield Newby John Brown raider	79	(3)
George Moses Horton Poet	82	(4)
Gordon "Fugitive" and Union scout	86	(1)
Robert Smalls Union Navy hero	87	(2)
William H. Carney Union Army hero	89	(2)
High John the Conqueror Legend	91	(2)
Jourdon Anderson Freedom-happy man	93	(1)
Isaac Myers Union organizer	94	(2)
John Henry Overachiever	96	(1)
Nat Love Cowboy	97	(3)
George Washington Town founder	100	(2)
Sydenham Porter Lackey for Democratic Party	102	(1)
John Childers Terrorized voter	103	(2)
Robert Brown Elliott Politician	105	(5)
Edward M. Bannister Artist	110	(4)
Lewis Adams "Grandfather" of Tuskegee Institute	114	(2)
Frederick Douglass Activist	116	(5)
Part II: Sons of the Dawn	121	(180)
W.E.B. Du Bois Activist-Scholar	123	(4)
John Merrick Enterpreneur	127	(3)
Stagolee Ba-ad dude	130	(1)
Johnson Chesnutt Whittaker West Point cadet	131	(2)
Daniel Hale Williams Physician and hospital founder	133	(2)
Homer Plessy Plaintiff for civil rights	135	(2)
Robert Charles Lynch victim	137	(3)
Granville T. Woods Inventor	140	(2)
William Drew Robeson Minister (and Paul Robeson's father)	142	(2)
Booker T. Washington Founder of Tuskegee Institute	144	(8)
Charles W. Chesnutt Writer	152	(4)
William Monroe Trotter Activist	156	(4)
Laurence C. Jones Founder of Piney Woods School	160	(3)
Oscar Micheaux Filmmaker	163	(3)
Dave Dinwiddie Small-business owner	166	(3)
Roland Hayes Concert singer	169	(1)
James Edward McCall A "New Negro"	170	(2)
Carter G. Woodson "Father of Black History"	172	(5)
Thomas A. Dorsey "Father of Gospel Music"	177	(4)
Richard Samuel Roberts Photographer	181	(4)
The Scottsboro Boys Defendants	185	(4)
Ernest Everett Just Scientist	189	(3)
Carl Murphy Newspaper publisher	192	(2)
Lorenzo Dow Turner Linguist	194	(2)
Jackson Jordan, Jr. A "drylongso" fellow	196	(3)
The Black Boys of Summer Baseball players	199	(3)
The Nicholas Brothers Dancers	202	(2)
Jacob Lawrence Artist	204	(5)
Chester Himes Writer	209	(2)
Charlie Parker Jazz musician	211	(2)
Benjamin J. Davis, Jr. Member of Communist Party	213	(3)
A. Philip Randolph Labor leader	216	(2)
Paul R. Williams Architect	218	(3)
Benson L. Dutton Civil engineer	221	(3)
Charles Hamilton Houston The first "Mr. Civil Rights"	224	(3)
Vernon Johns Spiritual and moral leader	227	(2)
Emmett Till Lynch victim	229	(1)
Bob Moses "Father of Freedom Summer"	230	(6)
Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. Activists	236	(3)
Woody Strode Actor	239	(1)
Berry Gordy Founder of Motown	240	(5)
John Oliver Killens Writer	245	(3)
Gordon Parks Renaissance man	248	(2)
Robert Hayden Poet	250	(2)
John Henrik Clarke Historian	252	(6)
Robert H. Lawrence, Jr. Astronaut	258	(3)
Amiri Baraka Poet, et cetera	261	(2)
Tommie Smith and John Carlos 1968 Olympians	263	(3)
Curt Flood Baseball player	266	(1)
Fred Hampton Black Panther	267	(2)
Blood Vietnam veteran	269	(1)
Arthur Ashe Tennis player	270	(2)
Reginald F. Lewis Tycoon	272	(3)
Matel Dawson, Jr. Blue-collar philanthropist	275	(1)
Tom Feelings Artist	276	(3)
Randall Robinson Founder of TransAfrica	279	(3)
Jesse Jackson Activist	282	(2)
Molefi Kete Asante "Father of Afrocentricity"	284	(4)
Charles Johnson Writer	288	(6)
Donald Bogle Film historian	294	(2)
Neil deGrasse Tyson Astrophysicist	296	(2)
The Million Men Seekers and soldiers	298	(3)
Index	301	(7)
Permissions	308