Journey to the Promised Land

The African American struggle for advancement since the late 19th century has had an enormous impact on American society in general. This examination of African American development looks at group progress in four critical areas of national life: economic, political, educational, and social. Determined to forge a new identity based upon principles of equality, African American leadership and the liberal whites who supported them have achieved many goals in their attempts to forge a new role for African Americans in the political development of the nation. Mungazi includes discussion of important watershed events and key individuals who helped to redefine our nation's history.A determined leadership contributed greatly to many victories. Such leaders sought assistance from the United States Supreme Court as one means to improve the plight of African Americans. Mungazi considers the Court's rulings on the question of race and the impact that these decisions have had on subsequent political and economic advancement. While African American advocates risked, in some cases, their very lives for their efforts, their commitment to the cause left them unwilling to compromise their basic operational principles and beliefs. Lingering racial prejudice and recent attacks on affirmative action have damaged interracial cooperation in many areas of the country; however, the struggle to reach the Promised Land continues.

DICKSON A. MUNGAZI is Regent's Professor of Education and History at Northern Arizona University. His numerous publications include In the Footsteps of the Masters: Desmond M. Tutu and Abel T. Muzorewa (Praeger, 2000), The Last British Liberals in Africa (Praeger, 1998), The Mind of Black Africa (Praeger, 1996), and Educational Policy and National Character (Praeger, 1993).