Most Popular Books by Manning Marable

A generation removed from the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Power explosion of the 1960s, the pursuit of racial equality and social justice for African-Americans seems more elusive than ever. The realities of contemporary black America capture the nature of the crisis: life expectancy for black males is now below retirement age; median black income is less than 60 per cent that of whites; over 600,000 African-Americans are incarcerated in the US penal system; 23 per cent of all black males between the ages of eighteen and 29 are either in jail, on probation or parole, or awaiting trial. At the same time, affirmative action programs and civil rights reforms are being challenged by white conservatism. Confronted with a renascent right and the continuing burden of grotesque inequality, Manning Marable argues that the black struggle must move beyond previous strategies for social change. The politics of black nationalism, which advocates the building of separate black institutions, is an insufficient response. The politics of integration, characterized by traditional middle-class organizations like the NAACP and Urban League, seeks only representation without genuine power. Instead, a transformationist approach is required, one that can embrace the unique cultural identity of African-Americans while restructuring power and privilege in American society. Only a strategy of radical democracy can ultimately deconstruct race as a social force. Beyond Black and White brilliantly dissects the politics of race and class in the US of the 1990s. Topics include: the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill controversy; the factors behind the rise and fall of Jesse Jackson''s Rainbow Coalition: Benjamin Chavis and the conflicts within the NAAPC; and the national debate over affirmative action. Marable outlines the current debates in the black community between liberals, ''Afrocentrists'', and the advocates of social transformation. He advances a political vision capable of drawing together minorities into a majority which can throw open the portals of power and govern in its own name.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for History and a New York Times bestseller, the definitive biography of Malcolm X Hailed as "a masterpiece" (San Francisco Chronicle), Manning Marable''s acclaimed biography of Malcolm X finally does justice to one of the most influential and controversial figures of twentieth-century American history. Filled with startling new information and shocking revelations, Malcolm X unfolds a sweeping story of race and class in America. Reaching into Malcolm''s troubled youth, it traces a path from his parents'' activism as followers of Marcus Garvey through his own work with the Nation of Islam and rise in the world of black nationalism, and culminates in the never-before-told true story of his assassination. Malcolm X is a stunning achievement, the definitive work on one of our greatest advocates for social change.

Are the stars of the Civil Rights firmament yesterday''s news? In Living Black History scholar and activist Manning Marable offers a resounding "No!" with a fresh and personal look at the enduring legacy of such well-known figures as Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., Medgar Evers and W.E.B. Du Bois. Marable creates a "living history" that brings the past alive for a generation he sees as having historical amnesia. His activist passion and scholarly memory bring immediacy to the tribulations and triumphs of yesterday and reveal that history is something that happens everyday. Living Black History dismisses the detachment of the codified version of American history that we all grew up with. Marable''s holistic understanding of history counts the story of the slave as much as that of the master; he highlights the flesh-and-blood courage of those figures who have been robbed of their visceral humanity as members of the historical cannon. As people comprehend this dynamic portrayal of history they will begin to understand that each day we-the average citizen-are "makers" of our own American history. Living Black History will empower readers with knowledge of their collective past and a greater understanding of their part in forming our future.

Contents Preface How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America A Critical Assessment Introduction to the First Edition Part 1 The Black Majority Chapter 1 The Crisis of the Black Working Class Chapter 2 The Black Poor Chapter 3 Grounding with My Sisters Chapter 4 Black Prisoners and Punishment in a Racist/Capitalist State Part 2 The Black Elite Chapter 5 Black Capitalism Chapter 6 Black Brahmins Chapter 7 The Ambiguous Politics of the Black Church Chapter 8 The Destruction of Black Education Part 3 A Question of Genocide Chapter 9 The Meaning of Racist Violence in Late Capitalism Chapter 10 Conclusion: Towards a Socialist America Reviews "Manning Marable examines developments in the political economy of racism in the United States and assesses shifts in the American Political terrain since the first edition....He is one of the most widely read Black progressive authors in the country."-Black Employment Journal "The reissue of Manning Marable''s How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America confirms that this is a classic work of political history and social criticism. Unfortunately, Marable''s blistering insights into racial injustice and economic inequality remain depressingly relevant. But the good news is that Marable''s prescient analysis-and his eloquent and self-critical preface to this new edition-will prove critical in helping us to think through and conquer the oppressive forces that remain."-Michael Eric Dyson, author of I May Not Get Therewith You: The True Martin Luther King, Jr. "For those of us who came of political age in the 1980s, Manning Marable''s How Capitalism Underdeveloped Black America was one of our bibles. Published during the cold winter of Reaganism, he introduced a new generation of Black activists/thinkers to class and gender struggles within Black communities, the political economy of incarceration, the limitations of Black capitalism, and the nearly forgotten vision of what a socialist future might look like. Two decades later, Marable''s urgent and hopeful voice is as relevant as ever."-Robin D.G. Kelley, author of Yo'' Mama''s DisFunktional!:

''Marable contests what he considers to be an ineffectual emphasis on electoral politics and argues that the future of black liberation will have to be fought out on activist terrain. This work offers invaluable theoretical and practical guidance to scholars and activists alike.'' Angela Y. DavisA bold collection of essays by one of America''s most prominent scholar/activists, Black Liberation in Conservative America defines the crises and challenges confronting black America on the eve of the twenty-first century. ''

One of America''s most influential historians and interpreters of the black experience reinvents racial politics for the twenty-first century

''Marable''s biography of Du Bois is the best so far available.'' Dr. Herbert Aptheker, Editor, The Correspondence of W.E.B. Du Bois ''Marable''s excellent study focuses on the social thought of a major black American thinker who exhibited a ''basic coherence and unity'' throughout a multifaceted career stressing cultural pluralism, opposition to social inequality, and black pride.'' Library Journal Distinguished historian and social activist Manning Marable''s book, W. E. B. Du Bois: Black Radical Democrat, brings out the interconnections, unity, and consistency of W. E. B. Du Bois''s life and writings. Marable covers Du Bois''s disputes with Booker T. Washington, his founding of the NAACP, his work as a social scientist, his life as a popular figure, and his involvement in politics, placing them into the context of Du Bois''s views on black pride, equality, and cultural diversity. Marable stresses that, as a radical democrat, Du Bois viewed the problems of racism as intimately connected with capitalism. The publication of this updated edition follows more than one hundred celebrations recently marking the 100th anniversary of Du Bois''s The Souls of Black Folk. Marable broadens earlier biographies with a new introduction highlighting Du Bois''s less-known advocacy of women''s suffrage, socialism, and peace and he traces his legacy to today in an era of changing racial and social conditions.

Since its original publication in 1984, Manning Marable''s Race, Reform, and Rebellion has become widely known as the most crucial political and social history of African Americans since World War II. Aimed at students of contemporary American politics and society and written by one of the most articulate and eloquent authorities on the movement for black freedom, this acclaimed study traces the divergent elements of political, social, and moral reform in nonwhite America since 1945. This third edition brings Marable''s study into the twenty-first century, analyzing the effects of such factors as black neoconservatism, welfare reform, the Million Man March, the mainstreaming of hip-hop culture, 9/11, and Hurricane Katrina. Marable''s work, brought into the present, remains one of the most dramatic, well-conceived, and provocative histories of the struggle for African American civil rights and equality. Through the 1950s and 1960s, Marable follows the emergence of a powerful black working class, the successful effort to abolish racial segregation, the outbreak of Black Power, urban rebellion, and the renaissance of Black Nationalism. He explores the increased participation of blacks and other ethnic groups in governmental systems and the white reaction during the period he terms the Second Reconstruction. Race, Reform, and Rebellion illustrates how poverty, illegal drugs, unemployment, and a deteriorating urban infrastructure hammered the African American community in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Freedom on My Mind reveals the richly diverse and complex experience of black people in America in their own words, from the Colonial era of Benjamin Banneker to the present world of Kweisi Mfume and Clarence Thomas. Personal correspondence, excerpts from slave narratives and autobiographies, leaflets, significant addresses and speeches, oral histories and interviews, political manifestos, and important statements of black institutions and organizations are brought together to form a volume that testifies to the boundless creative potential of black Americans in indefatigable pursuit of the dream of freedom. Arranged thematically, the selections illustrate the politics of resistance—as reflected through gender and sexuality, kinship and community, work and leisure, faith and spirituality. They also highlight the contributions of women to black identity, history, and consciousness, and offer excerpts from the work of some of the finest stylists in the African American canon. A general introduction as well as short introductions and bibliographies for each document further enhance the usefulness of the book for students and researchers.

The history of the black struggle for civil rights and political and economic equality in America is tied to the strategies, agendas, and styles of black leaders. Marable examines different models of black leadership and the figures who embody them: integration (Booker T. Washington, Harold Washington), nationalist separatism (Louis Farrakhan), and democratic transformation (W.E.B. Du Bois).

Manning Marable, historian and political scientist at Columbia University, has been a consistent voice challenging inequality and injustice in the social sciences for decades. Beyond Boundaries brings together Marable''s best writing from the last two decades and will prove invaluable to anyone seeking to challenge race, class and gender inequalities today. A pioneering intellectual in the field of black studies and the founder of Columbia''s Institute for Research in African-American Studies, Marable blends the disciplines of history, political science and sociology to address contemporary concerns and social issues.

Insider view of black activist movement: accomplishments, internal conflicts, deaths, King''s appearance and successes.

One of America''s most prominent historians and a noted feminist bring together the most important political writings and testimonials from African-Americans over three centuries.

This study traces the divergent elements for political, social and moral reform in non-white America during the period 1945-1990, and analyses the vision of multi-racial democracy and social transformation.

"Twayne''s twentieth-century American biography series." A biography tracing the development of Du Bois as an American black intellectual who engendered a new understanding of racial issues on the part of the American public.

Against a backdrop of multiculturalism and Afrocentricity in the intellectual traditions of African-American studies, this book sets new standards and directions for the future. It is the first book to systematically address the many themes that have changed the political and social landscape for African-Americans. Among these changes are new transnational processes of globalization, the devastating impact of neoliberal public policies upon urban minority communities, increasing imprisonment and attendant loss of voting rights especially among black males, the surging of Hispanic population, and widening class differences as deindustrialization, crack cocaine, and gentrification entered urban communities. Marable and a cast of influential contributors suggest that a new beginning is needed for African-American scholarship. They explain why Black Studies needs to break its conceptual and thematic limitations, exploring "blackness" in new ways and in different geographic sites. They outline the major intersectionalities that should shape a new Black Studies-the complex relationships between race, gender, sexuality, class and youth. They argue that African-American Studies scholarship must help shape and redirect public policies that affect black communities, working with government, foundations and other private institutions on such issues as housing, health care, and criminal justice.

The deluxe eBook edition of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention, includes an interactive map of Harlem as it was in Malcolm''s time and over 40 minutes of video: a making-of documentary featuring interviews with Marable''s family, graduate students, and editors; clips of author Manning Marable from one of his lectures on the activist; and archival footage of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Elijah Muhammad, and others enhance this definitive profile of the legendary black activist’s life. Of the great figures in twentieth-century American history, perhaps none is more complex and controversial than Malcolm X. Constantly rewriting his own story, he was a criminal, a minister, a leader, and an icon, all before being felled by assassins'' bullets at age thirty-nine. Through his tireless activism and countless speeches he empowered hundreds of thousands of black Americans to create better lives and stronger communities while establishing the template for the self-actualized, independent African American man. In death he became a broad symbol of both resistance and reconciliation for millions around the world. Manning Marable''s new biography of Malcolm is a stunning achievement. Filled with new information and shocking revelations that go beyond the Autobiography, Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention unfolds a sweeping story of race and class in America, from the rise of Marcus Garvey and the Ku Klux Klan to the struggles of the civil rights movement in the fifties and sixties. Reaching into Malcolm''s troubled youth, it traces a path from his parents'' activism through his own engagement with the Nation of Islam, charting his astronomical rise in the world of Black Nationalism and culminating in the never-before-told true story of his assassination. Malcolm X will stand as the definitive work on one of the most singular forces for social change, capturing with revelatory clarity a man who constantly strove, in the great American tradition, to remake himself anew.

Through public appearances, radio and television interviews, and his many articles and books, Manning Marable has become one of America''s most prominent commentators on race relations and African-American politics. Speaking Truth to Power brings together for the first time Marable''s major writings on black politics, peace, and social justice.The book traces the changing role of race within the American political system since the Civil Rights Movement. It also charts the author''s striking evolution of political ideas, moving toward a political analysis of multicultural democracy, social justice, and egalitarian pluralism.

This 100th Anniversary edition of Du Bois''s most widely read book offers significant updates and advantages over all other editions of this classic of African American history. A new Introduction by Manning Marable, Du Bois biographer and eminent historian, puts The Souls of Black Folk into context for 21st Century readers and recounts Du Bois''s life-long relationship with his text, which Du Bois continued to rework over many decades. A rarely seen 1953 Re-Introduction by Du Bois is included in this edition, as are the many corrections and changes Du Bois made to the original text during this era. Finally, an explication of the Du Bois text in the new Foreword by Charles Lemert helps the reader better understand the book''s historical and current relevance, as does the afterword by Cheryl Townsend Gilkes reflecting on Du Bois''s influence on feminism.

This work marks the recent passing of the 100th Anniversary of Du Bois'' classic of African American literature. More than fifty events and celebrations were held in cities and universities around the country. It poignantly explores the relationship of Du Bois, the man, to his writings. It is written by expert team of authors including the prominent Manning Marable. "The Souls of W. E. B. Du Bois" explores the relationship of W. E. B. Du Bois'' seminal book, "The Souls of Black Folk", to other works in his scholarly portfolio and to his larger project concerning race, racial identity, and the social objectives of scholarly engagement. Prominent authors consider why the classic book remains so relevant today.

On the evening of June 12, 1963 -- the day President John F. Kennedy gave his most impassioned speech about the need for interracial tolerance "Medgar Evers, the NAACP''s first field secretary in Mississippi, was shot and killed by an assassin''s bullet in his driveway. The still-smoking gun -- bearing the fingerprints of Byron De La Beckwith, a staunch white supremacist -- was recovered moments later in some nearby bushes. Still, Beckwith remained free for over thirty years, until Evers''s widow finally forced the Mississippi courts to bring him to justice. The Autobiography of Medgar Evers tells the full story of one the greatest leaders of the civil rights movement, bringing his achievement to life for a new generation. Although Evers''s memory has remained a force in the civil rights movement, the legal battles surrounding his death have too often overshadowed the example and inspiration of his life. Myrlie Evers-Williams and Manning Marable have assembled the previously untouched cache of Medgar''s personal documents, writings, and speeches. These remarkable pieces range from Medgar''s monthly reports to the NAACP to his correspondence with luminaries of the time such as Robert Carter, General Counsel for the NAACP in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case. Most important of all are the recollections of Myrlie Evers, combined with letters from her personal collection. These documents and memories form the backbone of The Autobiography of Medgar Evers a cohesive narrative detailing the rise and tragic death of a civil rights hero.

This issue, which marks the beginning of our fifth year, combines a number of articles about the good times and growing pains of a South reaching national maturity. It seems appropriate for us to answer, at this time, some of our readers'' questions about who we re and what Southern Exposure represents. Early observers thought we''d never make it this far with a regional journal so critical of the powers that be and so preoccupied with the lesser known people, with the struggles and heritage of a culture considered bankrupt by sophisticated America. But, like the South, we have attained a new stability, partly from the spin-off of the media search for Jimmy Carter''s South (they have yet to find it) and partly from our appeal to the same hunger for connections to a past, a place, a people, that made Roots a meaningful event for so many.