It's hard to rate such a tome but it makes me wish for a book that is about this length, but for every era or decade or so. Because a book about the trials and tribulations and moments of joy and excitement and real life history and everything else in between for Black people every now and again and not just something that chronicled, at the time, over 300 years of stories would be very cool. Very nice. Very much needed methinks.

Very odd gross weird how much the book talks about loving America and how we built it and put our blood sweat love pain and tears into a country that has never and will never love us back. Patriotism is already pretty gross but to add Black in front of that makes my head spin. Many many notes.

I would've liked more inclusion of those outside of the United States but that's a prompt for another book I suppose. And the inclusion of those stories of loving America really excludes the many, many, vast majority of stories I'm sure there are about true Black independence. The author/editor does acknowledge there are different types of stories in the book and there for sure are but being from America isn't the thing that makes us African American. At least I dont think so anymore. Yes, this was written in a different era but there's something else, something more that bonds us. Community. I'm thinking of the story by bell hooks in the Community section.

Also wow 651 pages in and the first mention of gay people wow. wow wow wow. Yeah I'd like another edition of this book. Or another volume or something more inclusive. There's a lot of the Black community, the Black American diaspora clearly left out of this 922 page book.

And girl why the hell, why in the absolute FUCK is the Self Esteem setion 30 pages but the Work section is 60? Do you hear yourself?!

That all being said though, it's a pretty worthy book. Good, I imagine, for if you have a kid and want them to know their history so when you put them to bed you read them a story or a poem or two.

Warning: DO NOT rent this from the library. You won't be able to finish it as soon as you think and they WILL put a hold on your account because they think you stole / lost the book!!!