Black Folk's Little Instruction Book

Black Folk's Little Instruction Book by Stinson, Denise. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780385476232.

A collection of valuable and provocative insights and advice celebrating the richness and diversity of African-American culture and history. The history of African-Americans is a complexly woven tapestry of experiences that have formed a tremendously rich and deep culture. Some of the survival methods, the pains and pleasures, the coping strategies, and the lessons that evolved during this history have remained. Others have been discarded. The Black Folks Little Instruction Book brings the wisdom of African-American culture full circle with 350 brief expressions of insight and advice designed to make readers smile, remember, cherish, ponder, rage, and think. The words in this book revive some buried traditions ("Eat greens every chance you get, they are full of memories and vitamin C"), bury some righteous assumptions ("Dont let anyone tell you who your leaders are"), and provoke new thoughts ("Your ancestors were enslaved men and women; it is too simple to call them just slaves"). And while the messages may be strongest for African-Americans, the book offers everyone a chance to put his or her own biases or preconceived notions under the microscope ("Jesse Jackson and Reggie Jackson are not related"). An inspirational book, a gift book, a book of conventional and unconventional wisdom, The Black Folks Little Instruction Book is a joyous, no-nonsense celebration of the way African-Americans live and think today.