The SAGE Encyclopedia of African Cultural Heritage in North America

"Organized along the same clean lines as a number of other SAGE encyclopedias published recently, and edited by a renowned scholar in the field of African and African-American Studies, these 250+ entries, from 140 authors around the world, present the multifaceted dimensions of African culture and how it has shaped lives in North America. Academic and public libraries will certainly benefit from this set." -- M. Schumacher * American Reference Books Annual * A compendium valorizing African folkways and heritage, this two-volume set explores the range and continuity of lore on the continent and among diasporic disseminators from Egypt to South Africa. ...Entries define abstractions, for example, Negritude, Kwanzaa, Geechee, Stepping, Rastafari, Jonkannu, Ebonics, and Maroon. A meticulous index orders primary and secondary terms that point the way for deeper study and research by teacher, student, and scholar. Dialogues, a Br'er Rabbit cartoon; charts of learning systems and African crops; a map of Africans among the Olmec; and photos of everything from the Lift Ev'ry Voice Festival to basketry to djembe drums develop significance. Although signed entries rely heavily on generalizations and less on details, this work deserves a place in most public and academic libraries. -- Mary Ellen Snodgrass * Booklist * "...The encyclopedia broadly describes the different aspects of African cultural heritage that distinguish traits retained by enslaved Africans, those retained by their descendants until today versus those created or readopted more recently. The work is well written...there is a thorough description of the symbols and their history...This work is suitable for library collections supporting advanced African or diasporic studies." -- B. D. Singleton * CHOICE *