If We Must Die: African American Voices on War and Peace

by Karin L. Stanford

Overview

If We Must Die is a narrative and compilation of commentaries by African American leaders, intellectuals, and average citizens on wars fought by the United States. The book uses the rich material of political and social commentary as it seeks to articulate the concerns, mood, and memory of African Americans in the context of global political realities.

Organized chronologically, by America's major wars, If We Must Die offers an impressively wide array of viewpoints from such diverse figures as Molly Pitcher, Phyllis Wheatley, Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, Ida B. Wells, Paul Robeson, Thurgood Marshall, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Barack Obama, and more.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780742541146
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	07/16/2009
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Karin L. Stanford is associate professor of pan African studies and African American politics at California State University, Northridge.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Chapter 1: The Revolutionary War: My Liberation, Your Freedom
Chapter 2; War of 1812: From the Plantation to the Battlefield
Chapter 3: The Civil War: One Shot Away from Emancipation
Chapter 4: Spanish-American and Philippines War: Is This a White Man's War
Chapter 5: World War I: The Strange Fruit of War
Chapter 6: World War II: Fighting for "Our America"
Chapter 7: Korean War: Coming in from the Cold
Chapter 8: Vietnam War: Red, White, Black, and Blue
Chapter 9: Persian Gulf War: Civil Rights/Human Wrongs
Chapter 10: Iraq War: Patriot Games

What People are Saying About This

Ronald Waters

This book . . . highlights a profound historical contradiction: for although African Americans' sacrifices have earned them the right to claim the full measure of freedom at home, their pursuit of freedom has been complicated by domestic race politics, even as black soldiers were, and are, fighting and dying on the battlefield.

Clarence Lusane

This startling collection of wise, funny, angry, and ultimately human reactions of black Americans on the issues of war and peace demands the widest exposure possible. This historic map of black opinion with Dr. Stanford's brilliant introductions is timely and a singular contribution for which due praise is admirably deserved.

Editorial Reviews

This volume collects an impressively diverse array of African American thought and rhetoric on the major wars of the U.S.. .. Stanford has performed an outstanding service with this volume.. .. Essential.

Choice

This volume collects an impressively diverse array of African American thought and rhetoric on the major wars of the U.S.. .. Stanford has performed an outstanding service with this volume.. .. Essential.

CHOICE

This book. .. highlights a profound historical contradiction: for although African Americans' sacrifices have earned them the right to claim the full measure of freedom at home, their pursuit of freedom has been complicated by domestic race politics, even as black soldiers were, and are, fighting and dying on the battlefield.

Ronald Waters

This startling collection of wise, funny, angry, and ultimately human reactions of black Americans on the issues of war and peace demands the widest exposure possible. This historic map of black opinion with Dr. Stanford's brilliant introductions is timely and a singular contribution for which due praise is admirably deserved.

Clarence Lusane

This volume collects an impressively diverse array of African American thought and rhetoric on the major wars of the U.S.. .. Stanford has performed an outstanding service with this volume.. .. Essential.

Choice Reviews