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Black Americans are frequently regarded as a monolithic group that thinks, votes and worships the same way. Black scholars have worked to dispel this myth by pointing out the range and complexity of Black American experiences. Black Intellectual Thought in Modern America: A Historical Perspective is an edited volume that explores the diversity of Black intellectual thought. It includes an introduction and seven essays that highlight particular aspects of Black scholarship in America.
The editors' introduction surveys the essays in the volume and sets out the aim of the project, which is "to complicate how Black intellectualism is academically and popularly understood" They say their intention is to avoid the reductive generalizations and simplistic binary categorizations that have frequently characterized Black intellectual historiography.
Gregory D. Smithers writes a sweeping overview of Black intellectual thought in "All the Science and Learning': Black Intellectual History in the United States" Smithers acknowledges the medicine men, priests and conjurers who were keepers of wisdom traditions during slavery. Then, he surveys the work of major Black thinkers in the 18 th and 19 th centuries and their participation in efforts to abolish slavery in the U.S. He identifies the roles of Black intellectuals in...