NYC Public Forum on School Governance-
History First

September 17 at Murry Bergtraum High School- Manhattan

Below is an hour+ long video where panelists Diane Ravitch, historian and critic, Jitu Weusi, educationactivist and former teacher as well as one of the organizers of the Ocean Hill-Brownsville struggle for Community Control, Betty Rosa, former principal and superintendent of District 8 in the Bronx and now a Regent. The panelists not only give us some great historical insights, but also begin to address the horrendous Bloomberg-Klein mayoral control policies and practices.

The session was moderated by Pedro Noguera of NYU.

http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1811520616

The Black Holocaust For Beginners Back In Print!

Folks,

For those of you who are looking for my book- The Black Holocaust for Beginners -it is still available either online or in local bookstores across the US. Since the 2001 death of the Brother publisher, Glen Thompson, Writers and Readers has morphed into another publishing house and has another distributor. Please check into: for any inquiries and orders.

I am available for various kinds of discussions and presentations around the book: classes, seminars, workshops, lectures. It can be in community organizations, activist groups, book clubs, spiritual centers and classrooms from Kindergarten all the way thru Graduate School.

Just email me here- seanderson@mail.com

In Struggle,

Sam Anderson
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Here are a few responses to the book from

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - The single-most impacting book of Black history I've read.
I've been reading everything "black" I could get my hands on since I started my awakening. I stumbled upon the Holocaust book in a small bookstore in Albuquerque, NM and had it read by that afternoon; I couldn't put it down. I was so impacted upon by the pictures, particularly of Sister Translator hanging from her tongue because she could speak to many and because she dared to strike a white man. It was so very interesting to learn about the Arab slave trade, especially the current state of affairs regarding slavery in Mauritania and the Sudan. Of great interest to me was the numbers Mr. Anderson cites. My husband, who is also a Black activist, has said for year he felt there were 100-150 million involved; it's easy to see there were really more than that. I applaud Mr. Anderson's bravery in writing a book about things no one wants to hear. I was moved to tears. Thank you, Mr. Anderson and may the Lord of your Fathers richly bless your life for your contribution to the cause.


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - There may be more scholarly treatments...
There may be more scholarly treatments but the impact that this little book gives the reader makes it one of the most important books you can buy. Don't wait for the professor to assign it. Whatever your heritage/ancestry is, these are pages that you have to read for yourself. You REALLY don't know much until you do.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - A Must Have
I bought this book based on the previous reviews and its better than I expected. The illustrations and graphics are excellent!


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - An Absolute Must Read
The book is part of an ongoing series that explores individuals and topics that unfortunately receive little or incorrect coverage by "mainstream" historians/books.

This nation has never faced the fact that its economy was built by the slave trade. Equally, many of the so-called heroes of the nation were the ones who pushed hard to continue or expand the buying and selling of humans. And the ramifications still reverberate today in the society.

The book brilliantly uses text and drawings to vividly bring the facts surrounding slavery to life. You will be equally touched and angered about the blood and chains & what must be seen for what it was - the planned extermination of a race of people solely to build a nation.

Critics will say that the book rewrites history. Yes it does. It places the sordid times in its proper context.


Rating: 3 out of 5 stars - Black African slavery did not begin with the Atlantic trade
Anderson and Holley rightly tackle a topic that deserves study, however, they de-emphasize the well-developed Islamic slave trade that kidnapped more than 11 million Black Africans from their homes between 700 to 1900. This slave trade began centuries before the Atlantic trade and continued for centuries after. Islamic scripture fully embraces the institution of human slavery. Mohammed left many instructions to slaveowners. This express endorsement of human slavery by Mohammed accounts for the fact that human slavery was not abolished in Saudi Arabia until 1964 and not until 1968 in Kuwait. Islamic slavery was no less brutal than the Atlantic variety. Males slaves were routinely castrated and forced into military service.Female slaves become sexual servants whose children were not their own.


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Truth In Your face
This is excellent literature, with extremely vivid graphics! Texts such as this should be written more often, as it is a well researched source of Black History.


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - For library black studies and American history collection
The systematic exploitation, enslavement and extermination of Africans in the Western Hemisphere dates from the start of the European slave trade around 1500 BCE to the conclusion of the American Civil War in 1865. The Black Holocaust killed millions of African human beings and is (because of the social prejudice and dehumanization necessary to justify slavery) the most under-reported event in western history. The Black Holocaust For Beginners is an ideal introduction to this incredible human chronicle of suffering and is a "must" for every school and community library black studies and American history collection.