Black Detroit: A People's History of Self-Determination
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Herb Boyd is a journalist, activist, teacher, and author or editor of twenty-three books, including his latest, The Diary of Malcolm X, edited with Ilyasah Al-Shabazz, Malcolm X's daughter. His articles have been published in the Black Scholar, Final Call, the Amsterdam News, Cineaste, Downbeat, the Network Journal, and the Daily Beast. A scholar for more than forty years, he teaches African American history and culture at the City College of New York in Harlem, where he lives.
"Comprehensive and compelling... We owe [Boyd] a debt of gratitude." -- Washington Post
"A blend of memoir, love letter, history, and clear-eyed reportage that explores the city's past, present, future and its significance to the African-American legacy and the nation's fabric." -- Detroit Free Press
"Detroit has found its griot in Herb Boyd. Traditional West African storytellers, griots carry their people's traditions from generation to generation, and are renowned for their encyclopedic knowledge, their wit and their ability to bridge the past and present. In the tradition of the griot, Boyd's purpose is to celebrate the black men and women, the city's "fearless freedom fighters," who would otherwise remain on history's margins. The characters who walk across Boyd's pages are fascinating." -- New York Times Book Review
"Boyd...breathes new life into the history of Detroit through stories of the city's black residents from its earliest days to its bittersweet present... He leaves no stone unturned, making his work an invaluable repository of all that is black Detroit." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"An inspiring, illuminating book that will interest students of urban history and the black experience." -- Kirkus Reviews
"The extensive coverage demonstrates the full range and influence of black citizens in Detroit... Recommended for anyone interested in Detroit or in urban history." -- Library Journal
"Herb Boyd has done it again. Black Detroit is a powerful, timely, and important history of an iconic city whose hopes and dreams, triumphs and tragedies, continue to both challenge and shape the African American experience and American democracy. This brilliant history is a must read for students, scholars, and all those interested in the history of the civil rights movement and black freedom struggle." -- Peniel E. Joseph, Author of Stokely: A Life
