5 comments about From Bondage To Liberty, Dance, Children, Dance.

1. I read this book while spending a week at a Young Life camp facility, and found it very inspiring and challenging. It is the biography of Jim Rayburn, Jr., written by his son. Mr. Rayburn confronted many obstacles in his life, but pressed on in serving the Lord in spite of the adversity. He was apparently a very winsom, energetic, charismatic individual and the book conveys his personality well. I finished reading this work inspired to let God be greater in me.



2. Jim Rayburn III has captured the spirit of a great movement that has made the world a better place to live. Jim Rayburn, the author's father and founder of Young Life lived a life committed to sharing God's love with young people. This is an important book for anyone who wishes to know the inside story of a person dedicated to serving God. It is a life high "highs" and low "lows". It is a life of pain, tragedy, disappointment, felt betrayal and a life of joy, faith, love, compassion and humor. It is a life of prayer and close commumion with the Almighty. Jim III has openly shared the inside struggles of his family as well as the inside struggles of the organization of Young Life. This book will be an encouragement to any unafraid to confront a great truth, that great accomplishments can be experienced in the middle of great pain.



3. This book was one of the more "impacting" pieces of literature I have picked up in a long time. It's the inspirational story of a man's desire for rich intimacy with God, and his burning love affair with The Savior. Throughout the story, miracles unfold one by one before the readers eyes. This book played a significant role in my desire to join the Young Life staff four years ago in Littleton, Colorado. I have been inspired by Jim's love for kids as I continue to invest my life in those at Columbine High School. As I reflect on this story, it makes me regretful-that I have only one life to give for Christ.

   Kevin Parker Young Life Area Director South Jefferson County, CO




4. If the mission of Young Life played a role in your life at any level; whether as a "club kid", camper, committee member, staff, or volunteer, then Bondage to Liberty, Dance Children Dance is essential reading for you. To understand the mission, you must understand the man God chose to initiate it, Jim Rayburn Jr. His son, Jim Rayburn III, provides the means to understand that man in this book. Primary source materials including personal journals, "club talks", and first-hand observations shed light on Jim's character and internal thought processes, personal relationships, incredible prayer life, and personal spiritual highs and lows. Photographs and expanded captions add much to the painting of Jim's portrait. More than a simple biography, Bondage to Liberty honestly examines the lives of Jim and Maxine Rayburn, their human struggles, frailties, shortcomings, and the miraculous work accomplished through them. In the process, it opens a window into Jim's relationship to his Heavenly Father and his God-sized vision for reaching teens with the message of the Christian faith in terms they could relate to. More than just documenting a work with youth, Bondage to Liberty reveals the varied spectrum of Young Life's history from its conceptual beginnings in the rural Southwest, to the anointed growth and impact during its early decades, through its tumultuous social and corporate growing pains, and on to its current condition today. In the context of the story of this man and his work, we are reminded that making an impact with teenagers, or anyone in this world, has more to do with love than it does logistics, requires availability more that it does capability, and demands faith rather than fancy formulas. Just as with the mission it documents, Jesus Christ and knowing real life in Him isn't just one thing Bondage to Liberty is about, its all Bondage to Liberty is about.



5. This is a must read for any person willing to examine the life he/she leads. What a great way to delve into the questions: "Does God exist?" "How does he work in people's lives today?" and "Is it worth it?" It's not only a first-hand look at Jim and Maxine Rayburn from the inside, but a beautiful glimpse of the workings of Christ in modern times. Whether Christian or not, this book promises to deliver on every level: it will make you laugh, cry, examine your own life, and challenge your thoughts. Jim Rayburn III hit the nail on the head with this amazing story of his father, the founder of Young Life, the legacy he left behind, and the torment he went through due to his humanness. As a former Young Life kid, I owe a lot to his first convictions. You will, too.

3 comments about Racism 101.

1. This was my first encounter with Giovanni besides her poetry, and I was amazed at her perspective observations. This book was recommended to me because of it's chapter about black college students. This single chapter did wonders for helping me with my adjustment into the college setting. If I had an opportunity to thank the author face to face, I would definately ask her what influenced the to shape philosophies about race relations on college campuses, ironically we agree for the most part. It is refreshing to me to find a person of her stature willing to voice her own opinions about important issues without holding back.I strongly recommend this book to every serious black student. The necessity of this book before you enter the college classroom is more than you could understand until actually encounter the writer's truths.



2. I though this was a great reader. The accounts of her life and the lesson that she is giving to her son and the readers kept me very interested in this book. She gives you the tools that one needs to combat racism. I especially like her critique of Spike Lee's movies!



3. Unless you are seeking a much needed feminist sensibility against Morrison's abusive Tar Baby narrative, I wouldn't bother. The rest of it is vague, presumptuous, shockingly lacking in self-reflection and criticism. For the most part, her flirtations at clear, responsible thought all to easily descend into her typical scolding tirades! She insults everyone's intelligence by speaking as if she is getting after an errant five year old!

2 comments about The Origins of the Civil Rights Movement: Black Communities Organizing for Change.

1. Aldon Morris writes the history of the Civil Rights Movement as the gradual organization of black communities in the South in response to Jim Crow. Morris' account begins with early protests in North Carolina, Tennessee and other peripheral states that multiplied and culminated in the more well-known actions in Alabama and Georiga. Throughout the account, Morris emphasizes the indigenous nature of the movement - black communities organizing around black institutions (the black church) with their own financial and infrastructural resources.
   
   The research for the project was conducted via interviews with many of the movement's leaders, so Morris is able to give first-hand accounts of the way protests were conducted and of the motivations for organizing in certain ways at certain times. His account is extraordinarily rich and touches on the interplay between the often conflicting personalities of movement leaders. He describes the means and motivation of the adoption of the non-violent protest method and, to a lesser extent, the roles played by women in the movement. He also deals in passing with the ideological treatment of homosexuality by movement leaders.
   
   As an account of how the civil rights movement developed in the South, Morris' book is exceptional. It reads as well as a novel and uses the input of first-hand sources to make its story as much personal as academic, without losing its integrity.
   
   Some have argued that Morris neglects the role of women in the movement and this might be a fair criticism. But inasmuch as he argues that the civil rights movement was organized around and by the leaders of the black church, he justifies his focus on the (male) Baptist minister as a principle leader of movement activities. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to better understand how the Civil Rights Movement was carried out in the United States.



2. Articulate and provocative, Aldon Morris' study of the American Civil Rights Movement is a comprehensive and comprehensible analysis of a strategic struggle for human survival and essential dignity. Emphasizing that African Americans have rarely accepted the subordinate position forced upon them, that the Civil Rights Movement was carefully orchestrated rather than a series of random events, and that women played a critical role in the organization and implementation of the movement, Morris incisively resurrects and dismantles official discourses. In the tradition of John Hope Franklin's "From Slavery to Freedom", Lerone Bennett's "Forced into Glory", and Ivan Van Sertima's "They Came Before Columbus", Morris reconstructs history with a fresh perspective. Morris' extensive use of the interview technique enables the reader to probe the minds of the makers and shakers of the movement, as we hear them speak in their own words. Somewhat academic in its approach, yet eminently readable, "Origins of the Civil Rights Movement" can be understood and appreciated by middle school students, academicians, and history buffs alike. It is a must-read for those interested in a complete understanding of American history in general and of African American history in particular.

1 comments about Warrior Poet: A Biography of Audre Lorde.

1. Alexis DeVeaux presents a comprehensive account of self-described feminist, lesbian, and poet warrior, Audre Lorde. The author pulls together a myriad of published documents, unpublished journal entries by Audre Lorde herself, and a host of interviews with personal friends and family members to create a well documented look at the poet's life. The book is divided into two major sections called "lives." The first life begins prior to Audre's birth, and highlights some aspects of her parent's early life, their eventual marriage and move from the Caribbean to the United States. This family background helps readers understand Audre's nearly lifelong quest to come to terms with her relationship with her often emotionally detached parents. This portion of the book also details information about Audre's childhood, educational background, and young adult life. We learn about Audre's marriage to a white, gay, man and their eventual divorce and follow her process of "coming out" regarding her own lesbianism. Her long-term relationship with a white woman, Frances Clayton, and the challenges associated with raising a bi-racial son and daughter in a lesbian household during an era of rampant, overt racism and sexism was also discussed. DeVeaux also takes time to highlight some of Audre Lorde's flaws, thus providing a somewhat more balanced view of the author. Her professional career as a poet develops slowly, and the evolution of her writing career parallels the evolution of her political views and personal growth.
   
   The second section of the book, "The Second Life," continues to explore her career development, chronicles her battles with cancer in more detail, and ends with her death. Audre Lorde supported freedom and equality for all, regardless of race, gender, class, or sexual orientation. However, because of her strong views and personal lifestyle, she often found herself on the fringes. Many white feminists were uncomfortable with her views on race, while those involved in the black power movement tended to be uncomfortable with her feminist ideology and her lesbianism. Yet she used her own struggles, particularly her battle with cancer, as a means to educate, motivate, and inspire.
   
   I enjoyed WARRIOR POET and was impressed by Alexis DeVeaux's attention to detail and the time she spent helping readers understand the social and political climate of the times. There were times when I felt she went a little too far "setting the stage" and wanted to read more about Audre and less about other poets, or politics. Audre seemed to use her identity to take on very public battles for women's rights, gay rights, and so forth. But I found myself wanting to know more about how her children handled their mother's public persona. I also wondered how her very conservative, Catholic mother and her other siblings responded to Audre's lifestyle, and this issue was surprisingly never addressed. In spite of its sometimes academic feel, this is a must read for anyone that wants to learn more about an important literary figure.
   
   Reviewed by Stacey Seay
   of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

1 comments about Desert Children.

1. An essential read awaits you between the covers of this book.
   
   I don't agree with the book description snippet in the official section of this page. The "Here, then, are the voices of women who have felt emboldened by Waris Dirie's courage." is innacurate. It could make one think this is a collection of happy endings. There's no "Mission Accomplished!" self-congratulatory tone here. This book is about Miss Dirie finding out the world of FGM (female genital mutilation) is much larger than she realized. Thus I also found out it's much larger than I realized. It's not just a "wow I didn't know that" type of book, though. It's not suitable to only think about it and say to oneself "those poor women". Solutions and answers are sought.
   
   That's how this book should be viewed. It's a call to action. You'll cry. You'll gasp. You'll slam your fist on the table. It's about learning to ask the right questions so the solutions may be attained. If after (or before) reading this type of book you want an autobiography... a way to envision FGM within the life of a specific woman, I recommend "Slave" by Mende Nazer. It's also an essential read if you want to try to understand what is (and has been for decades) happening in Sudan. Slave is devastating but it also shows the beauty of which humans are capable. It's one of the best, most important autobiographies ever.
   
   I think the research that went into Desert Children, and the writing of the book itself, was the most emotionally difficult for Miss Dirie of the 3 she's written so far. You don't have to have any sort of serious background study of FGM for you to be moved, angered and inspired by this book. It will work equally well as an introduction as it will your 10th book on the topic. Having said that, I also encourage anyone to read The Female Circumcision Controversy: An Anthropological Perspective because I always fear that many people in the West may use FGM/FGC (FGcutting) as simply another weapon in their arsenal of racism. As in the "THEY must be animals because WE would NEVER!!" mindset.
   
   This isn't a women's issue. This isn't a religious issue. This isn't an issue that knows arbitrary political boundaries. This is about our fellow humans suffering what I think has to be the most horrific, lifelong torture any human could possibly experience. Within their own borders, Western European governments are oftentimes unfit or unwilling to help even those women who explicitly seek it out and could be easily saved/helped. The looming question for those of us who live in the USA is this... how many females in the USA have suffered this cruel act within our own borders? Thinking we're somehow immune to this would be a costly mistake.
   
   There is the occasional phrase that would seem to suffer from awkward translation but that is of little consequence when the real message comes through loudly. Clearly. There are also helpful appendices that make this book a slim, powerful, affordable resource.

2 comments about The Hornes: An American Family.

1. An absorbing trip through American history, courtesy of a family of vivid dreamers and high achievers. Gail Lumet Buckley had access to a remarkable family archive of scrapbooks, photographs and journals and does great justice to it, crafting a multigenerational portrait that is enlightening and highly readable. Although Buckley's mother, Lena Horne, is the most famous member of the family, the book makes it clear that she was only one of its noteworthy success stories. For anyone wanting to know more about what America was like for middle-class blacks in the Reconstruction and beyond, "The Hornes" is a wonderful place to begin.



2. Fabulous insight into a family with ties to every important event in US History.

5 comments about In the Black: A History of African Americans on Wall Street.

1. Great Book by an author who was born into the game and has the unique abilty to show blacks involvement with Wallstreet since day one.



2. You never know where you're going unless you know where you came from! I just started the book, and I wish my finance professors had incorporated this into the otherwise impeccable curriculum at Clark Atlanta. Very interesting read. Every person on wall street should read it, it's not only black history but AMERICAN history.



3. I found the information in this book very informative and surprising that black participation in finance went back as far as it did. Stories of black stockbrokers and mutual fund salesmen in the 1950's to the investment bankers of today, records the slow but meaningful progress made on the Street in the last few decades. Hopefully, the progress will continue....



4. This book was an impulse buy for me, I have always had little interest in Wall Street but my son works in the securities industry so I thought I would read this for some background. I am very glad I did because I did not realize how deep African American history in the financial world is. I enjoyed the stories of people like Philip Jenkins and John Patterson, early pioneers who deserve greater recognition for their contributions. I think that this book is an important contribution of both African American and Wall Street history and does a good job of illuminating aspects about the history of finance that went unrecognized for far too long.



5. This book fills in the missing pages of Wall Street's History. It documents how African-Americans overcame racism and other barriers to become successful in the financial securities industry. This should be part of every business school's curriculum.

5 comments about African Muslims in Antebellum America: Transatlantic Stories and Spiritual Struggles.

1. This is a great book that every black man and woman must read. The struggle of African Slaves enslaved in the Americas must be taught. We owe a great debt to them so we must not let there legacy be forgotten. There legacy will be alive as long as we teach our children about who they were and what was their culture, religion and heritage they once had.
   Let the truth be heard to all those who can hear.



2. The book is certainly an excellent source of knowledge about a unique facet of the transatlantic slave trade that is frequently overlooked and marginalized. This account, describing the lives of dozens of African Muslims in North America and elsewhere in the New World should serve as a catalyst for further study into the roots of the Muslim American experience. The less than perfect score is due less to the author's compilation, and more to the dearth of extant sources available for analysis. A more in depth study into the lives of existing Muslim communities in places like British Guyana and in Trinidad would likely yield a more comprehensive picture. The account is excellent, but it is by no means definitive, and much research remains to be conducted and codified.



3. This is one of those books whose contents might be a total surprise. While it is known that fragments of Africana culture survived the terrible Middle Passage to America, surely nothing of organised religion? Indeed, were not the European slavers successful in eradicating almost any trace of a pre-existing culture?

   But, wonder! A few slaves were Muslim, and managed to preserve this after a fashion in colonial America, whereas the Christianity for most came from the slavers.

   Perhaps a simple look at a map and history might make this not a surprise. Islam had moved into central and west Africa by the 1600s. Those areas, after all, are continguous to Arabia. And given that by 1000, Islam had reached across North Africa, by another 500 years, it had penetrated south past the Sahara. By contrast, in those years, there were negligible numbers of Christians in Africa. Such existed mainly in the Portuguese colonies of what are nowadays Angola and Mozambique.

   From what partial records survive, the author has done remarkable job of reconstructing something that has languished in the shadows for centuries.




4. This book is nine chapters of mostly biographical information of muslims from west africa who got caught in the north american slave trade. The first two chapters are an overview the muslims and historical accounts. Chapters 3-9 concentrate on the lives of some of the most well known muslims and what others wrote about them.

   The reason why I didn't give this book five stars is because of the author's use of Ar-Rahman as if it is Ibrahim 'adurraHmaan's last name. In the muslim faith, it is blasphemous to refer to a person as Ar-RaHmaan or any of the other names of allah (god). This may seem like a small issue to most, but it is a very serious issue because the author is showing his ignorance of Islam and spreading ignorance among the readers who know little or nothing about Islam. The readers of this book will see the casual use of ar-Rahman and think that it's ok to use it for short 'adurraHmaan. Since the author has a Ph.D, I think he should have had knowledgeble muslims read through his book before publication.




5. Austin's book brings to light an under-examined aspect of African Islam's role in early North America. The short biographical stories of African Muslims have never failed to capture students' imaginations in my classes. A good read and an excellent addition to reading lists for American and African-American History surveys.

3 comments about In Search of Nella Larsen: A Biography of the Color Line.

1. I enjoyed Dr. Hutchinson's book on Nella Larsen, the enigmatic nurse who wrote two marvelous novels in mid-career and then, took up her tents and wrote no more. Wow, does he lay into Larsen's two previous biographers! Sometimes it seems as though the whole purpose of him writing this book is to serve as a massive corrective to what he sees as their stupidity, their errors, their evasions, their sloppy thinking. This gives the book a lot of energy, and perhaps prompted Hutchinson to perform some brilliant feats of detective work. For example, he was able to prove that Nella Larsen actually did live in Denmark, for others had doubted her stories of a childhood in Copenhagen, seeing the purported fantasy as yet another manifestation of her self-hatred and the way she wanted to be white, not black.
   
   It is thrilling indeed to get the whole picture of this complex life, even at the expense of the two previous biographers who must now forever lay at Hutchinson's feat, their every inanity exposed to a sneering public. And yet, as he knows, without these two having done so much groundwork, such as locating and interviewing friends of Larsen's now lost to us through death, he wouldn't have been able to accomplish zilch. So his triumph is clouded by a blur of ironies, as I'm sure he appreciates, ironies worthy of a Larsen novel.
   
   I enjoyed especially Hutchinson's calm treatment of Larsen's final years, which saw her leave literature and the "glitterati" of the Van Vechten circle behind, in favor of a nursing career, which most people have seen as a terrible tragic turn of fate, and now under Hutchinson's treatment, he's very persuasive that being a nurse isn't, perhaps, such a bad thing at all, for nurses help people nearly as much as, perhaps more than, we novelists do. He is occasionally overgiven to speculation, such as his suggestion that "it is not unlikely" that Larsen chose night duty (while nursing) because she could "control and cover her drinking habit better that way." Why is it not unlikely? Does this mean that it is likely? How do you know, Dr. Hutchinson? And what about the part where, because one personage receives an unexpected visit on a Saturday, does that indicate that the visitor most likely worked on weekdays? Excuse me?
   
   All in all, essential reading for anyone interested in either the Harlem Renaissance or in the life of American nurses in midcentury.



2. Nella Larsen was an enigmatic writer of the Harlem Renaissance, whose background has been highly speculated by other biographers, Charles Larson and Thadious Davis. George Hutchinson's superb biography of Nella Larsen puts to rest a lot of the speculation about Ms. Larsen's background. Mr. Hutchinson unveils some of the more complicated issues regarding Larsen's relationship with her mother and family, her life in Denmark, and her obscurity as a writer after the Harlem Renaissance. By thoroughly examining the papers of Carl Van Vechten, passenger ship logs, and other archives untouched by previous biographers, Hutchinson gives voice to the complicated negotiations regarding race that plagued Larsen during an era when the color line figured so prominently in most American's lives. Hauntingly told and beautifully written, this biography of Nella Larsen is essential to not only putting her life in perspective but also for enriching any reading or teaching of Larsen's novels. Hutchinson places Larsen, the writer, and her works within the center of the Harlem Renaissance, and he contextualizes Larsen and her work within the larger modernist moment when Larsen meets Frederico Garcia Lorca during his brief stay in New York when he was studying at Columbia. Even biographers of Lorca have neglected to put a face to the "Negroes" that Lorca wrote about as being the only authentic and uncorrupted aspect of U.S. culture and life that he found palatable. Hutchinson's biography paves the way for refiguring Larsen and the significance of her work to both the African American and American literary canons.



3. This very elegant and academically excellent work was thought provoking. It should prove of great interest to anyone interested in the reality of life for black women facing the societal restrictions of the past. It provides both a unique perspective and a story that draws the reader to this dynamic historical figure and her place in history. The author provides extensive documentation of his resources and uses even the most ordinary of life's details to show the influence of color on the life and times of an extraordinary woman.

No comments about Dreaming Me: Black, Baptist, and Buddhist - One Woman's Spiritual Journey.