EXPLORING BLACK AMERICA: A History and Guide

Marcella Thum has wisely chosen to take the broadest possible view of black history and her annotated list of historical landmarks includes not just the obvious historical monuments and museum collections but Civil War battle sites, black colleges, African and Afro-American art collections and even the ""western forts where buffalo soldiers were stationed."" Each group of locales is prefaced by a brisk historical essay and while Thum doesn't treat slavery or, say, the underground railroad in any depth, she does add some fresh material to the usual overworked examples of black contributions to art, music and the opening of the West. Readable on its own, this will be most useful as a guide to places worth visiting. Thum gives many specifics (hours, exhibits, etc.) and with most states (and even several sites in Canada) represented, the potential for planning more relevant Bi-Centennial field trips is high.