Discusses slave narratives with particular reference to historians Kenneth Stampp and Stanley Elkins. (SB)

Contends that Benjamin Bowser's essay (title cited above) contains conceptual and factual errors on such matters as the relationship of African slavery to European economic expansion; influence of Social Darwinism; and the role of Robert Park, W.E.B. DuBois, E. Franklin Frazier, and other Black historians in sociological research in this country.…

This article reveals the differences between the character Kunta Kinte and the historical record concerning African males in the preslavery period. Kunta's non-African behaviors include displays of blind anger and rage, prudishness, and actions unknown in his Mandinka culture. These represent the many misrepresentations and ambiguities in Alex…

Presents evidence from former slaves on specific aspects of the literacy process: which slaves learned to read and write, what levels of literacy they attained, who taught them, the context in which this teaching and learning took place, and why slaves were taught or taught themselves. (CMG)

Examines some facets of racial attitudes among the blacks of Puerto Rico; during the months of July and August, 1971, many Puerto Ricans from different socioeconomic levels and regions were interviewed as part of an ethnolinguistic survey of the amounts of influence from West Africa which still remain on the island. (Author/JM)

Discusses William Styron's novel "The Confessions of Nat Turner." Comments on the principal charges made against William Styron by the contributors to "William Styron's Nat Turner: Ten Black Writers Respond." (Author/AM)

Discusses the history of Blacks in the United States since their importation as slaves beginning in the fifteenth century. Underscores the great impact the Black presence has had, and continues to have, on the cultural, biological, political, and economic development of the United States. (MK)

Asserts that the relationship between the Negro character and the white in American fiction before the Civil War reveals a social mythology which Herman Melville was the first to undercut, by presenting the destiny of Negroes linked to that of America as a symbol of nemesis to white Americans who disregard the impact of slavery on the enslavers…

Examines the urbanization of blacks in the slave states from 1790 to 1860. Changes in the geographic distribution and demographic structure of the black urban population provide new evidence to evaluate the causes of the decline of urban blacks and reveal the likelihood of a disproportionate incidence of incomplete families for both slave and free…

Reviews research pertaining to S. Elkins' thesis, discusses the limitation of role analysis in explaining the development of slave personalities; suggests the possible advantages of using Neo-Freudian theories of personality development; and comments on the use of Western psychologies in general to explain the behavior of blacks. (Author/JM)

Although the most creative subject for North American historians in the last decade has been the study of comparative slave systems and race relations, this has not always been the case. In this historical review of research on slavery and race relations, Carl Degler's and other liberal historians' work is discussed. (MC)

Discusses White missionaries' efforts to instill Anglo values into newly freed Black college students. Describes how, as memories of slavery dimmed, early resistance gave way to enthusiastic acquiescence so that by the early 1900s, Anglo cultural norms had become firmly embedded in the value system of Tennessee's college-educated Blacks. (CMG)

Argues that while the study of comparative slavery deals with Blacks, it has so far, very little to do with Black or Afro-American history; the focus has been almost entirely upon the institutions and slave systems of the planters, and little attention is given to the lives or longings of the African population caught up in slavery and New World…

In his 1928 play, the Harlem Renaissance writer Leslie Pickney Hill portrays Toussaint L'Ouverture, the leader of the Haitian slave rebellion, with historical accuracy. Hill's presentation was aimed at rehabilitating black pride, "A worthy literature reared upon authentic records of achievement is the present spiritual need of the race."…