In Search of Black America: Discovering the African-American Dream
by By Dent, David J.
Category: Social Science , Ethnic Studies , African American Studies

Exposing myths and exploding stereotypes, In Search of Black America is a landmark work that looks at the lives of African Americans throughout the United States. David Dent, a noted journalist and professor, set out on a cross-country road trip into the heart of black America with stops in Detroit; Washington, D.C.; Portsmouth, New Hampshire; Gallipolis, Ohio; Seattle, Washington; Hampton, Virginia; and many other places, including Lawnside, New Jersey, a historically black town with strong roots and ties to the Underground Railroad.  This book is the result of his five-year odyssey, which took him and his tape recorder to upscale art galleries, schools, bowling alleys, formal balls, college campuses, fishing trips, mansions, summer homes, ranches, rodeos, and many more places -- well off the beaten path. What he discovered not only contradicts most of the common stereotypes about black America prevalent in today's popular media but uncovers new truths about African-Americana.  Drawing from hundreds of hours of taped interviews and keen journalistic observation, Dent uncovers the widespread diversity of the lives of the black majority -- middle- and upper-middle-class African Americans. Along the way, Dent encounters a most eclectic and insightful array of characters. Through their lives, he not only examines and questions the most common American beliefs about race and politics but also explores issues that go beyond race and touch on social and moral questions that Americans of any hue confront.  All of Dent's subjects share at least one thing: They park pieces of their lives in what Dent calls secluded spaces of black culture. Few are separatists but most are profoundly ambivalent -- yet often hopeful for a future America free of racial inequality and social injustice.  Candid and honest, controversial and pragmatic, In Search of Black America is written with journalistic fervor, and will change the way people view this piece of America that is often over-looked and little