cover image A Black Way of Seeing: From ""Liberty"" to Freedom

A Black Way of Seeing: From ""Liberty"" to Freedom

Paul Robeson, Jr.. Seven Stories Press, $23.95 (216pp) ISBN 978-1-58322-725-1

For more than 20 years, Robeson was ""close aide and personal representative"" to his father, actor and activist Paul Robeson Sr. Robeson's latest book, following Paul Robeson Jr. Speaks to America: The Politics of Multiculturalism and The Undiscovered Paul Robeson, An Artist's Journey, continues the elder Robeson's tradition of speaking out thoughtfully and frankly, and sketches a vision of American history where Black Americans, from slavery forward, have been forced to live a ""separate reality"" from white Americans. He begins with the race implications of 9/11, where he finds hurtful spin by Giuliani (""The Mayor's implied message was clear: We have a lily-white fire department, and we're going to keep it that way""), and moves on to ""Eight Coups in American History"" (""George Bush's mission in the White House is to establish nationwide a modern version of the old Confederacy based on the New South""), an account of the War on Terror and of voter fraud in the last two presidential elections, and a program for Black Americans to support the Progressive party along class lines. Like most ""my vision for America"" books, this one is thin on documentation, but thick with passion.