Students seeking more information about African American history have something new to turn to, thanks to history and African American studies Prof. Earl Lewis.
Lewis, who is also an associate Rackham dean, has spent the past five years compiling information for an 11-volume set of books titled "The Young Oxford History of African Americans," which he co-edited.
Geared mainly for a 13-to 21-year-old age group, the set of books includes previously unpublished illustrations and facts extending from the slave trade to the civil rights movement.
"The opportunity was presented to me by the Oxford University Press," Lewis said, adding that there was a void of good historical writing for teen-agers. "I was inspired by my own kids to undertake such a tedious task."
Joseph Trotter, a history and African American studies professor at Carnegie Mellon University, said the books are on the cutting edge of academic research.
"It (the series) is a great accomplishment, bringing together some of the best research by the use of the best scholars," Trotter said. "I highly recommend the series to scholars, as well as young readers."
The volumes tell real-life stories and supply glimpses into the minds and lives of African Americans through letters, diaries and documents.
Rebecca Scott, chair of the University's history department, commended Lewis for the collection's creativity.
"It is very exciting when one of the country's leading specialists on a historical subject takes on the task of presenting that history to young people," Scott said. "Earl Lewis is a very innovative scholar, and the series reflects his boldness."
The project began in 1992, and was recently completed. Co-edited by Robin D.G. Kelley, a professor of history and Africana studies at New York University, the series features the work of several well-known scholars. The books attempt to present the most recent historical scholarship in a political, social and economic context, while offering an Afrocentric perspective.
An example of this is found in volume one, "The First Passage: Blacks in the Americas, 1502-1617." In this book, historian Colin Palmer of the City University of New York details the development of the slave trade and the forced migration of an estimated 10 to 20 million people from diverse nations. Palmer ultimately illustrates how African American culture developed and endured despite these hardships.
In volume five, assistant director of the American Historical Association, Noralee Frankel, quotes a little-known speech given to freed slaves by Major Martin Delaney, one of few African Americans to reach officer status during the Civil War.
"Only you were the means for your master to lead the idle and inglorious life, and to give his children the education which he denied to you for fear you may awake to conscience," Delaney told the newly freed slaves.
Lewis said he did not plan on writing one of the books, but changed his mind as the project moved forward.
"I didn't intend to author a volume, but ended up co-authoring a volume on civil rights with Vincent Harding and Robin Kelley," Lewis said.
Lewis, Kelley and Harding collaborated on volume nine, "We Changed the World: African Americans, 1945-1970."
The book analyzes roots of the civil rights movement, including Rosa Parks and the ensuing Montgomery bus boycott, the rise of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, and the advent of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and the Black Panthers.
JONATHAN SUMMER/Daily
Earl Lewis, professor of history and African American studies, sits with one of the 11 books he recently co-edited, titled "The Young Oxford History of African Americans."