An intimate look at centuries of black history in America with exclusive accounts, photographs, newspaper reproductions, and other documents.
One of The Root's Favorite Reads of 2019
Presented in three parts—Lest We Forget, Freedom's Children, and We Shall Not Be Moved—this volume brings African American history to vivid and illustrated life. It includes:
Lest We Forget: Based on materials from the nationally acclaimed Black Holocaust Exhibit, Lest We Forget documents the plight of an estimated 100 million Africans, from their rich pre-slavery culture to their enslavement in a foreign land. This collection of stirring historic papers, memoirs, personal effects, and photographs presented alongside moving commentary chronicles the unyielding strength of a people who refused to be broken.
Freedom's Children: Taste the sweetness of freedom and the bitter struggle for equality through the documents that impacted the lives of an entire race. Freedom's Children vividly presents the heart-wrenching and inspiring account of freedmen and freedwomen during Reconstruction and into the twentieth century.
We Shall Not Be Moved: Throughout the twentieth century, African Americans would trouble the waters of America—agitating, challenging, and defying the status quo. We Shall Not Be Moved chronicles the struggles and triumphs of African Americans leading up to and during the Civil Rights Movement. Feel the strength of those entrenched in the fight for justice up through the twenty-first century in an afterword that includes the election of America's first African American president and the beginning of the #BlackLivesMatter movement.
With this richly illustrated book, take an intimate and unforgettable journey through more than four centuries of black history.

Velma Maia Thomas