African American Culture: An Encyclopedia of People, Traditions, and Customs [3 volumes]

by Omari L. Dyson, Judson L. Jeffries Ph.D., Kevin L. Brooks

Overview

Covering everything from sports to art, religion, music, and entrepreneurship, this book documents the vast array of African American cultural expressions and discusses their impact on the culture of the United States.

According to the latest census data, less than 13 percent of the U.S. population identifies as African American; African Americans are still very much a minority group. Yet African American cultural expression and strong influences from African American culture are common across mainstream American culture—in music, the arts, and entertainment; in education and religion; in sports; and in politics and business. African American Culture: An Encyclopedia of People, Traditions, and Customs covers virtually every aspect of African American cultural expression, addressing subject matter that ranges from how African culture was preserved during slavery hundreds of years ago to the richness and complexity of African American culture in the post-Obama era.

The most comprehensive reference work on African American culture to date, the multivolume set covers such topics as black contributions to literature and the arts, music and entertainment, religion, and professional sports. It also provides coverage of less-commonly addressed subjects, such as African American fashion practices and beauty culture, the development of jazz music across different eras, and African American business.

• Identifies influential aspects of African American culture through entries on such topics as African Americans in sports, in such musical genres as blues, gospel, hip hop, and jazz; and in such religions as Christianity, Islam, and Yoruba
• Makes clear the numerous ways African Americans have produced, maintained, and evolved their culture in the United States
• Enables readers to truly comprehend what "diversity" is by gaining substantive knowledge of how a particular group of persecuted people has learned to thrive artistically and culturally in the United States

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440862434
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	07/23/2020
Series:	Cultures of the American Mosaic
Pages:	1168
Product dimensions:	11.10(w) x 14.10(h) x 4.80(d)

About the Author

Omari L. Dyson is academic professional assistant professor in the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Judson L. Jeffries is professor of African American and African studies at The Ohio State University and editor of the Journal of African American Studies.

Kevin L. Brooks is academic specialist for diversity and civic engagement in the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities at Michigan State University.

Editorial Reviews

"Covering subjects that are frequently mentioned in contemporary discourse but not always fully explained (see, for instance, the informative entry on historically Black colleges and universities), this is a valuable resource for a wide range of readers." - Library Journal

"Suitable for college, university, and high-school collections, this entry in the Cultures of the American Mosaic series is both timely and essential." - Booklist, Starred Review

From the Publisher

11/01/2020

In his introduction to this three-volume set on Black culture, editor Dyson (peace & conflict studies, Univ. of North Carolina-Greensboro; The Black Panther Party and Transformative Pedagogy) defines culture as giving context to a group or individual's experience; it is "the method by which an individual/group works to produce the parameters on who will be identified as us or them." To provide a reference for that broad concept, Dyson and coeditors Judson L. Jeffries (African American & African studies, Ohio State Univ.), and Kevin L. Brooks (academic specialist for diversity and civic engagement, Residential Coll. in the Arts and Humanities, Michigan State Univ.) have assembled articles by a variety of academics and independent researchers on subjects that include from concepts, places people, movements, traditions, and historical milestones like Brown v. Board of Education. Articles are signed and arranged in alphabetical order. Though a few of the broader entries ("African Cultural Influences") feel unsatisfactory, these are the exception and they are only the result of the attempt to compress a broad subject, rather than lack of scholarship. A bigger issue is tone, as some entries seem highly scholarly while others are aimed at a more general audience. However, this simply means that there is something for everyone. Entries are cross-referenced and feature further reading. VERDICT Covering subjects that are frequently mentioned in contemporary discourse but not always fully explained (see, for instance, the informative entry on historically Black colleges and universities), this is a valuable resource for a wide range of readers.—Robert Mixner, Bartholomew Cty. P.L., Columbus, IN

Library Journal