The essential African American wisdom

the long version

The African American experience encompasses a rich array of written and oral wisdom that speaks to every aspect of the human condition. Essential African American Wisdom is a provocative collection of more than 350 quotations from some of the extraordinary black American men and women whose words and deeds have shaped our national heritage in innumerable ways from colonial times to the present. The insights and aphorisms collected here are drawn from speeches, autobiographies, essays, interviews, novels, folk sayings, and songs, and are arranged thematically to reflect the subjects most important to the speakers themselves.