Synopses & Reviews
Exposing myths and exploding stereotypes,
In Search of Black America is a landmark work that looks at the lives of African Americans throughout the United States. David Dent, a noted journalist and professor, set out on a cross-country road trip into the heart of black America with stops in Detroit; Washington, D.C.; Portsmouth, New Hampshire; Gallipolis, Ohio; Seattle, Washington; Hampton, Virginia; and many other places, including Lawnside, New Jersey, a historically black town with strong roots and ties to the Underground Railroad.
This book is the result of his five-year odyssey, which took him and his tape recorder to upscale art galleries, schools, bowling alleys, formal balls, college campuses, fishing trips, mansions, summer homes, ranches, rodeos, and many more places -- well off the beaten path. What he discovered not only contradicts most of the common stereotypes about black America prevalent in today's popular media but uncovers new truths about African-Americana.
Drawing from hundreds of hours of taped interviews and keen journalistic observation, Dent uncovers the widespread diversity of the lives of the black majority -- middle- and upper-middle-class African Americans. Along the way, Dent encounters a most eclectic and insightful array of characters. Through their lives, he not only examines and questions the most common American beliefs about race and politics but also explores issues that go beyond race and touch on social and moral questions that Americans of any hue confront.
All of Dent's subjects share at least one thing: They park pieces of their lives in what Dent calls secluded spaces of black culture. Few are separatists but most are profoundly ambivalent -- yet often hopeful for a future America free of racial inequality and social injustice.
Candid and honest, controversial and pragmatic, In Search of Black America is written with journalistic fervor, and will change the way people view this piece of America that is often over-looked and little understood.
Synopsis
Exposing myths and exploding stereotypes, a landmark work of "road journalism" reveals the diverse and surprising realities of contemporary African-American life.
About the Author
David J. Dent, a professor of journalism at New York University, writes for many publications. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, Essence, Emerge, The Christian Science Monitor, Vibe, Playboy, and Newsday. Dent, a contributing correspondent for Black Entertainment Television News, has also been an on-air television reporter in Nashville and Greensboro, North Carolina. He lives in New York City with his wife, Valerie, and two children, Lynnette and David Jr.
Table of Contents
Contents Introduction
One: Traditions
1. The Emancipation: Day One
2. A Tradition1s Feud
3. Preparing for the Independence Day Parade
4. The Parade Today
5. The After Party
6. Up from the River
7. The Seekers
8. The Town1s Elite
Two: Fishing
9. Morning in Hampton
10. Campaign 194
11. Final Plays
12. Fishing
13. The Real McKoy
Three: True Colors
14. The Norm of No Color
15. Mansion of the Dolls
Four: Soul and Cold Country
16. Highway Preacher
17. Dreams of Georgia
18. The Girls of the Homey Crew
19. The Ebony Towers
20. A Spelman Sophomore
21. Home
22. The Graduate: The Mom
Five: Leisure
23. American Beach
24. MaVynee
25. Tuxedo Time
26. Colored Balls and White Pins
27. Alleys and Slopes
Six: Home
28. The Ride Home
Epilogue