Documents the African American experience, from their origin in Africa to slavery in the Western Hemisphere and their successful struggle for freedom.

A definitive biographical resource provides up-to-date, authoritative portraits of some six hundred noteworthy African Americans representing a wide variety of fields of endeavor, including slaves and abolitionists, writers, politicians, artists, business leaders, musicians, performers, athletes, journalists, and other historical figures.

Compiles information and interpretations on the past 500 years of African American history, containing essays on historical research aids, bibliographies, resources for womens' issues, and an accompanying CD-ROM providing bibliographical entries. (view table of contents)