The Art of the Black Essay (Studies in African American History and Culture)

The Art of the Black Essay unveils the power of the African American essay to bring about a meditative shift in the minds of readers, to catapult them beyond racial ideology - by immersing them in it - and to elicit in them, ultimately, democratic change. This title outlines the specific tools of the trade, literary techniques through which the democratization process works: the uncanny, meditative moment of transcendency. This title also describes a psychological journey experienced by the essayist him/herself. Essay writing or life-writing is the vehicle to release the pull of ideology - the root of the "hierarchy of race" idea. In this book, the author makes a clear distinction between race as biology and race as ideology in order to align race with the culture, values, traditions and art of a people. The Art of the Black Essay shows how African American essayists have transcended the pull of two cultural identities and achieved democratic change.