Cites and discusses various forms of satire from Black American, Caribbean, and African cultures. Forms considered include oral ballads ('toasts') antebellum sermons, praise poems, mother-rhyming, ritual insult and theater. Emphasizes the agonistic element and the impossibility of performing Afro-American satire in standard English. (RDN)

The Black anthropologist, Vera Mae Green, is featured in this analysis of the concept of soul as applied to African-Americans. Music and dance are used to express soul in cultural context. But soul is also a force, an energy which encompasses the Black experience and makes Black culture persevere. (VM)

Presents histories and descriptions of two major public library collections of Afro-Americana and Africana: the Vivian G. Harsh Collection of Afro-American History and Literature (Chicago Public Library); and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (New York Public Library). Fifteen references are listed. (Author/MES)

For the historian whose charge is to discover those antecedents in the past which can illuminate the present, the study of African history can be highly rewarding, both intellectually and professionally. This essay is addressed to students of history whose prime area of expertise is other than Africa. (RM)

Describes the role of movement and dance in the lives of Blacks living on the Sea Islands off the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia. Claims that the isolation of this area helps preserve its Africanicity and culture. Focuses particularly on the uses of rhythmic chanting in worship and in children's games. (KH)

An annotated listing, by publisher, of Black and Black-related books, described as incomplete due to space limitations. Includes novels, scholarly analyses, poetry, history, cultural studies, political studies, biographies, how-to manuals, bibliographies, drama, literary criticism, and folklore. (CMG)

Reviews research and opinion about the origin of Ebonics, refutes theories on Ebonics being a black version of English, and characterizes Ebonics as an African-based language in structure and origin, mixed with European words. Contains 51 references. (SLD)

Describes health and nutritional practices and beliefs among Black Americans, from slavery to the present. Links such practices and beliefs to social, political, and ideological factors. (GC)

Describes the genesis, philosophy, and activities of the African Community Theatre Arts Program (ACTAP) at Kent State University. ACTAP, which has an extensive community outreach program, attempts to promote and develop Black consciousness and cultural awareness throughout northeastern Ohio. (GC)

Discusses similarities in the contemporary crafts from Africa, the Caribbean, and the Sea Island region of the United States as evidence of African cultural survivals. (GC)

Discusses the spirituality and African roots of African-American culture. Defines Africanisms as elements of African culture that permeate both religious and secular African-American life. Defines the phenomenon identified as "soul" among African Americans as the contemporary manifestation of Africanisms. Suggests that soul music is…

Discusses the suppression of African culture in America. Finds that multicultural curricula still devalue Black culture. Offers a vision for living a humanely equitable existence and freeing Black children from oppressive learning environments. (DM)

Discusses an Afrocentric curriculum in public education, describing Molefi Asante's Africology (an epistemological relativism that integrates several academic disciplines into an overarching study). Examines its epistemology and its principles for selecting languages of instruction, academic subjects, course materials, and teaching methodologies.…

Analyzes the social function of spirituals in relation to African culture and the slavemasters' language restrictions. Describes the role of secret meetings in traditional African cultures and slave society, and the Bible as metaphor. Focuses on themes of freedom and escape, redemption and salvation, and judgment and punishment. (KH)

Analyzes the elements of ritual and spirit possession in African religious traditions and compares them with similar elements in Afro-American cults and churches. (Author)