Stranger in the Village CL

This exceptionally rich collection brings together memoirs, excerpts from books and diaries, pamphlets, personal letters and lectures written by African Americans during the 19th and 20th centuries about their travels. Griffin, an assistant professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania, and Fish, an assistant professor of English at Borough of Manhattan Community College, include pieces by missionaries (Zilpha Shaw), explorers (Matthew Henson), authors (James Baldwin), activists (Angela Davis) and statesmen (Ralph J. Bunche) who voyage to such places as Africa, Russia, the Caribbean and India. The well-chosen selections depict journeys undertaken for various reasons. Of special interest are Robert Campbell's 1859 analysis of African slavery, Martin Luther King Jr.'s impressions of India and poet June Jordan's visit to the Bahamas, where she encountered the exploitation of the black staff at the hotel where she stayed. (June)