Black Legacy

Book excerpt: From the award-winning author of Breaking the Chains and Black Indians comes a complete history of Black Americans in New York State. Chronological, with photos throughout, and with new contributions by Herb Boyd, here is an essential book for teachers, librarians and young readers. From the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in New Amsterdam in 1609 to the Harlem Renaissance to the first Black mayor of New York City to the impact of the Black Lives Matter movement, here is the complete and newly updated history of Black Americans in New York. First published in 1997, Black Legacy reasserts the essential work of teacher and historian William Loren Katz, who was committed to documenting and uplifting the stories of Black Americans’ courage and creativity, resilience and rebellion. In his new introduction, Herb Boyd, who also adds material bringing the book up to the present day, writes that Katz’s oeuvre, “represents the full tableau of Black accomplishments and aspirations.” Here are the Black politicians and poets, abolitionists, athletes and activists, the first Black children to attend public school, the journalists who covered their stories, and those like Paul Robeson, W.E.B. DuBois, Frederick Douglass, Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, the Black Panthers, and others who fought for Black freedom. Sojourner Truth, Madame C.J. Walker, the growth of the Seneca Village and Weeksville communities, the Savoy and Cotton clubs of the Jazz Age; the near death of Martin Luther King Jr. at Harlem Hospital, the discovery of an African burial site at Trinity Church in lower Manhattan, Shirley Chisholm’s election to Congress, and so much more can be discovered in these pages. Written with economy and flair, and including historical maps, illustrations, and photographs throughout, Black Legacy is a fascinating read, a necessary teaching tool, and a great addition to the literature of the history of Black America.