A Narrative of the Negro

Black history does not begin with slavery.

Come read the story of individuals and cultures throughout history, as collected by Leila Amos Pendleton, a Black community activist and teacher from the early 1900s. Her search for a full history, not just one rife with oppression, led her to the Library of Congress and the libraries at Yale and Harvard. She felt that if children of European descent were being taught to love the land of their "kinfolk," lands they had never seen with their own eyes, then young Black children should be able to take pride in where they came from, too.

A window in time: this book was published shortly after the founding of the NAACP and a year before "Aunt Harriet" Tubman's death.

From ancient African civilizations and the African diaspora, through Caribbean and South American Black history, and into American history up to her own current-day events, Leila Pendleton offers a unique perspective on the social and cultural issues Black Americans faced post-Reconstruction.

Like many topics with social issues involving progressive terminology, many of the things Ms. Pendleton addressed and the terms she proudly wore have not played out as she anticipated in the hundred-plus years since. Even this book's title is part evidence of that. The civil rights movement in the United States may not have come to full voice until its tipping point in the 1950s and '60s, but this book has a remarkable front-row seat to the individuals and perspectives that shaped the thought and prepared the way.

In this edition, Amber O'Neal Johnston of Heritage Mom Blog offers this paragraph as part of her longer foreword:

"Pendleton's objective of offering a sort of 'family story' to America's Black children, my children, was revolutionary during her time and is just as important today. She intended this work to be a mere starting point to whet their appetites for more knowledge and understanding, and she was successful in her mission. I can confidently share that my admiration and gratitude overshadow the few shortcomings of the text, and I hope you can say the same upon completion."

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Written by a passionate researcher, this compilation of historical records includes anecdotes about little-known Black characters, and in some places reads like a Who's Who of Black history. This is an edition Smidgen Press is pleased to preserve for modern readers. Find out more at SmidgenPress.com.