Black Profiles in Courage: A Legacy of African American Achievement

To provide role models for African Americans, particularly young people, retired basketball star Abdul-Jabbar (Giant Steps) and Steinberg (Behind the Mask) have crafted here interesting and nuanced accounts of heroic African Americans whose accomplishments changed U.S. history. Among them are the lives of the 16th-century Moroccan explorer Estevanico, Revolutionary War patriot Crispus Attucks, slave liberator Harriet Tubman, anti-slavery author Frederick Douglass, Western frontier marshal Bass Reeves and a riveting description of West African rice farmer Joseph Cinque, who led a rebellion on the slave ship Amistad in 1839. Although Abdul-Jabbar is highly critical of past and present racism in the U.S., he gives credit to the abolitionist movement and leaders such as William Lloyd Garrison for their efforts toward ending slavery. Photos not seen by PW. Author tour. (Oct.)