I feel inadequate to really review this work, but it struck me deeply all the same. Its encyclopedic coverage of the history and development of African American political activity, the growth of academic study of the African Diaspora, and analysis of blackness in American politics is fascinating, but I feel that this edition, which stops at the election of Barack Obama, is sadly outdated.

The final essay ends with a look at how an Obama presidency could be a starting point for greater social change, and multicultural unity to help counter the Neoliberal capitalistic word order, but we see now that the potential there was never realized.

It's almost sad to end there, where some hope was seen, when we know now how much worse things were going to get. But perhaps the author's passing in 2011 was a kind of blessing, since he was spared the sight of the racist backlash that lead to our current administration.

I see this as an invaluable resource in understanding the history of American politics and its impact on the lives of black Americans, especially as an examination from a Marxist understanding of class struggle. ( )