Texas Tech University Press Books Highlight Black History

Just in time for Black History Month, Texas Tech University Press presents four new books that illuminate a variety of subjects. Copies are available free upon request to book review media. "A Place to Be Someone: Growing Up with Charles Gordone" - a memoir of Shirley Jackson. The book chronicles Jackson's upbringing in a multicultural family. She describes the ways in which her family, which includes Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright brother, Charles Gordone, determined to make something of themselves in a small town and a country that marginalized them because they didn't fall into an established racial or ethnic category. Born in1925 in Cleveland, and raised in Elkhart, Ind., the family members struggled to carve a place for themselves in a predominantly white section of town. "Unfinished Masterpiece: The Harlem Renaissance Fiction of Anita Scott Coleman" -edited by Laurie Champion and Bruce A. Glasrud,gathers Anita Scott Coleman's works from The Crisis and other significant journals. Reflecting and illuminating the themes of the Harlem Renaissance, Coleman's often award-winning stories offer subtle commentary on the status of black women, their role in black society and the position of blacks in white society.

***

Covering the time period between 1820 and 1970, two books highlight the significant role that black Texans played in the development of the state. "The African American Experience in Texas: An Anthology" - edited by Bruce A. Glasrud and James M. Smallwood. The book discusses politics, slavery, religion, military experience, segregation and discrimination, civil rights, women and education in an anthology of essays put together for the first time."And Grace Will Lead Me Home: African American Freedmen Communities of Austin, Texas, 1865-1928" - by archivist Michelle M. Mears. The book focuses on the post-Civil War years when many freed slaves in central Texas traveled to Austin to start new lives in or near the capital city. At least 15 communities were founded. The book details how Austin's freedmen communities grew from 1865 to 1928, until the city implemented a master plan that encouraged blacks to move into a single section of town. Mears's careful combing of archival sources fleshes out life's amenities as well as the essentials of life for freedmen and their families. Available June 2009. For more information on these books, contact Barbara Brannon, marketing manager, Texas Tech University Press, (806) 742-2982 or via e-mail at barbara.brannon@ttu.edu.