Paul Ortiz 11-12-2019 in Berkeley | An African-American Latinx History of the United States
“An African American and Latinx History of the United States is a gift. Paul Ortiz wields the engaging power of a social historian to bring vividly to life so many Black and Brown fighters for human rights in the Americas. Ambitious, original, and enlightening, Ortiz weaves together the seemingly separate strivings of Latinx and Black peoples into a beautiful tapestry of struggle.”—Ibram X. Kendi, author of Stamped from the Beginning
“An epic, panoramic account of class struggles in the Western Hemisphere.” —Robin D.G. Kelley, author of Freedom Dreams
Spanning more than two hundred years, An African American and Latinx History of the United States is a revolutionary, politically charged narrative history, arguing that the “global south” was crucial to the development of America as we know it. Scholar and activist Paul Ortiz shows how placing African American, Latinx and Indigenous voices unapologetically front and center transforms US history into one of the working class organizing against imperialism. Drawing on deep narratives and primary source documents, Ortiz links the struggles of African American civil rights activists fighting Jim Crow laws with Mexican labor organizers warring against capitalism with abolitionists and Latin American revolutionaries to reveal the radically different ways people of the diaspora have addressed crucial issues still plaguing this country today.
“A sleek, vital history that effectively shows that ‘from the outset, inequality was enforced with the whip, the gun, and the United States Constitution” — Kirkus Reviews (starred)
“A welcome antidote to the poison of current reactionary attitudes toward people of color, their cultures, and place in the U.S.” — Sara Martinez, Booklist
2018 Winner of the PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award
Paul Ortiz is the author of Emancipation Betrayed: The Hidden History of Black Organizing and White Violence in Florida from Reconstruction to the Bloody Election of 1920, and co-editor of Remembering Jim Crow: African Americans Tell About Life in the Segregated South
Sabrina Jacobs is host and producer of the popular A Rude Awakening, aired on KPFA Radio Monday afternoons. She covers local breaking news as well as global events, informing listeners about the latest social injustices. Ms. Jacobs is also currently serving as staff representative/vice chair of Pacifica Radio’s National Board.