From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Historian Campbell, whose Songs of Zion (1995) traced African Methodist Episcopal Church's history and garnered multiple awards, here traces the travels and travails of diverse African-Americans-missionary, settler, journalist, tourist, immigrant-who journeyed to Africa over 200-plus years. Campbell's prologue recalls the 18th century adventures of Ayuba Suleiman Diallo (a literate, Wolof-speaking Muslim brought to the U.S. as a slave, whose letter to his father eventually resulted in his return to West Africa); his book ends with the experiences of black journalists covering strife in present day Sierra Leone and Liberia. Relying heavily on traveler's journals and memoirs, Campbell revisits Africa through the eyes of such lesser-known 19th century figures as freeman and abolitionist Paul Cuffe, A.M.E. reverend Daniel Coker, and back-to-Africa nationalist Martin Delany. He also brings to life turn-of-the-20th-century figures like Charles Spencer Smith and William Sheppard. Accounts of Langston Hughes, W.E.B. DuBois, George Schuyler, Richard Wright, and Era Bell Thompson all offer lesser known details of famous lives. A bibliographic essay is particularly valuable for its breadth and judgment. Cambell uses an unexpected conceit to deliver a wealth of history.
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Hundreds of years and an ocean between the present and past have not weakened Africa's strong hold on the imaginations of African Americans. Historian Campbell explores that hold and the incredible efforts to reconnect with Africa by diverse black Americans, including W. E. B. DuBois, Malcolm X, Louis Armstrong, and Alice Walker. He begins with an account of the high-born Ayuba Suleiman Diallo, who was on a slave-trading mission when he was captured in 1730. He was returned to Africa--by way of Maryland and England--in 1734, eventually becoming an agent for the slave trade. Campbell examines the long history of journeys back to Africa and the motivations behind them: repatriation of former slaves, search for homeland, business interests, and Christian missionary work. Campbell also explores the journeys of self-discovery by black Americans, famous and obscure, as well as the growth of an African heritage tourist industry. This is a scholarly but highly accessible examination of the pull of Africa and the ties that continue to bind Africans in the diaspora.
Vanessa BushCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
