Intimate, in-depth portraits, interviews, and essays of America's black leaders—from the founding of the nation and Frederick Douglass to the 2008 presidential race and Barack Obama. Each figure is interconnected with the next, exploring themes of family and intergenerational community, spirituality, and diligence, activism, and struggle. These remarkable portraits reveal the true spirit of the American pioneers who forged much of the heart of this nation, but whose achievements have been largely overlooked. New York Times bestselling author Dick Russell examines the lives of musicians, civil rights leaders, philosophers, writers, and actors including Duke Ellington, Will Marion Cook, Louis Armstrong, Wynton Marsalis, Albert Murray, Ralph Ellison, Toni Morrison, and Romare Bearden. Concluding with a list of sources and suggested reading, this fascinating and vibrant look at American history is a must for any collection. “African-American studies. The connection he makes between James Baldwin and Fredrick Douglass, for example, is both relevant and highly perceptive. -- David Leeming, author of James Baldwin ” “Dick Russell melds exhaustive historical research with fresh and revealing contemporary interviews. The combination creates a window on African-American genius and geniuses that has never been opened. This is an astonishing book. --Richard Newman, Fellows Officer of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute, Harvard University and author of Everybody Say Freedom: Everything You Need to Know About African-American History ” “tribute to the spirit and achievement of the black community, is at once a chronicle of and an oral recital by many of the African-American creators who stoked and influenced American culture. Mr. Russell does not beleaguer that oft-maligned term "genius", instead, crisscrossing disciplines and time, he offers an eloquent tapestry that weaves historical account, critical assessments, anecdotes, and a chorus of personal observations and testaments from living artists that dispels any doubt about his community. Working and reworking his central theme, Russell has created a vibrant narrative composition in which the stirring voices of black intellectuals and artists echo like soloists in an eloquent Ellington suite. --Mel Watkins, author of On the Real Side: The History of African-American Humor ” Dick Russell has written for such varied publications as Time , Sports Illustrated , and the Village Voice .His books include The Man Who Knew Too Much , Black Genius , and On the Trail of the JFK Assassins . He is also the coauthor of several New York Times bestsellers, including American Conspiracies , 63 Documents the Government Doesn't Want You to Read , and They Killed Our President . Black Genius Inspirational Portraits of America's Black Leaders By Dick Russell Skyhorse Publishing Copyright © 2009 Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-60239-369-1 Contents Title Page, Copyright Page, Prologue - BARACK OBAMA: "AN ABIDING FAITH IN THE POSSIBILITIES OF THIS NATION", Foreword, Dedication, Epigraph, INTRODUCTION: BEARING WITNESS, Part 1 - A CERTAIN HERITAGE, 1 - Ancestors — Ellington's Mentor: Will Marion Cook, 2 - Albert Murray and Louis Armstrong, 3 - The Craft of Ralph Ellison, 4 - From Duke Ellington to Wynton Marsalis, 5 - Variations on a Theme: Romare Bearden, Artist, Part 2 - CREATION UNDER FIRE, 6 - Ancestors — Meta Warrick Fuller, Sculptor, 7 - The Painters: Loïs Mailou Jones and Jacob Lawrence, 8 - All the World's Their Stage: Paul Robeson and Ira Aldridge, 9 - Gordon Parks: A Lens on Humanity, 10 - Ancestors — Mary McLeod Bethune, Educator, 11 - A Teacher's Mission: Elma Lewis, 12 - The Philosophers: Cornel West and the Du Bois/Locke Legacy, 13 - Toni Morrison: Nobel Prize for Literature, 14 - Timeless Voices, Parallel Realities: James Baldwin and Frederick Douglass, Part 3 - BUILDERS OF AMERICA:, 15 - Ancestors — Lewis Latimer and the Early Black Inventors, 16 - The Laser Physicist and the Computer Wizard: Earl and Alan Shaw, 17 - Bob Moses and the Algebra Project, 18 - Ancestors — The Astronomer/Surveyor: Benjamin Banneker, 19 - The Architects: Charles and Cheryl McAfee, Part 4 - HEALERS OF BODY AND SPIRIT, 20 - Ancestors — The Physicians: Louis Tompkins Wright and Jane Cooke Wright, 21 - Byllye Avery and the National Black Women's Health Project, 22 - Ancestors — Sojourner Truth and the Nineteenth-Century Visionaries, 23 - Howard Thurman, Benjamin Mays, and the Martin Luther King Legacy, Afterword, Acknowledgments, Notes on Sources, Selected Bibliography, Index, CHAPTER 1 Ancestors — Ellington's Mentor: Will Marion Cook Go out and up! Our souls and eyes Shall follow thy continuous rise Our ears shall list thy story From bards who from thy root shall spring And proudly tune their lyres to sing Of Ethiopia's glory. — Paul Laurence Dunbar, "An Ode to Ethiopia" It was 1893, thirty years