Every year more colleges and high schools are offering classes (and often making them required classes) in black history. Joanne Turner-Sadler provides a concise and probing treatment of 400 years of black history in America that can be used with age groups ranging from lower high school to college. In African American History: An Introduction the author touches on key figures and events that have shaped African American culture beginning with a look at Africa and its various civilizations and the migration of the African people to America. Some essential topics covered are are:
* the struggle with slavery
* the role African Americans played in America's wars (including the current war in Iraq)
*race riots and unions
*the NAACP, civil rights, and black power movements
*the Harlem Renaissance
*issues in education
*the journey into the West
*legal cases such as Plessy vs. Ferguson and Brown vs. Board of Education



This book is an indispensable addition to all library collections as well as a teaching tool for instructors. It is heavily illustrated (photos, maps, timelines) with useful end-of-the-chapter questions and activities for further study and includes a handy bibliography of suggested readings and an index.
New in this edition is a section on the historic election of Barack Obama, the first African American president of the United States. Dr. Turner-Sadler points out some interesting connections that Obama has to past presidents. This edition also contains enhanced discussions of Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice and the historic positions both held.