The Complete Idiot's Guide African American History by Melba J. Duncan

If you don't know African American history, you don't know American history! You're no idiot, of course. You know that the struggles and triumphs of Africans in America are an important part of our history. What you may not realize is that understanding the African American experience is central to understanding life in the United States.

You don't have to wait until Black History Month to discover the strength, resilience, and brilliance of the African American people. This book will introduce you to poets, politicians, pioneers, and patent-holders you may not have encountered before.

In these pages you will learn:

• How the slave trade enriched both North and South, and what the Emancipation Proclamation really did - and didn't do.
• The modern Civil rights movement from Rosa Parks's bus ride and Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a Dream" speech to Reverend Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow Coalition.
• Life stories of extraordinary historical figures from the literary geniuses of the Harlem Renaissance to blues and gospel artists of the South.