{The following is a chapter from my book, “The Blueprint: A BSU Handbook,” which I wrote to teach Black student activists how to organize on college campuses. The information addresses college protest movements but can be applied to community … Continue reading The Basics of Effective Protest Strategy
OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE FOR AGYEI TYEHIMBA’S NEW BOOK FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Agyei Tyehimba, Author, 872-222-6764 Truself143@gmail.com TRUTH FOR OUR YOUTH A Self-Empowerment Book for Teens by Agyei Tyehimba Distinguished by his passion and commitment, Harlem-born educator, author and activist Agyei Tyehimba has mentored and empowered at-risk teens and their parents for the past two decades. In TRUTH FOR OUR YOUTH: A Self-Empowerment Book for Teens (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Paperback; $12.95; April 4, 2014), Agyei Tyehimba draws from this solid background in youth development. Over the course of 234 fun and engaging pages, he teaches young people that they … Continue reading Truth for our Youth Official Press Release
In April of 2014, I released my third book, “Truth for our Youth: A Self-Empowerment Book for Teens.” Every time I appear on a radio show to promote my new book, I’m asked why I wrote it. My answer is generally … Continue reading The Problem With Black Exceptionalism
Recently, the Annie E. Casey Foundation published a report entitled “Race For Results: Building a Path to Opportunity For All Children. This report – like so many others – reinforced through empirical data what we already know…..Not only do Black … Continue reading The Troubling State of Black Youth in America!
I am happy to announce that I released my third book Truth for Our Youth: A Self-Empowerment Book for Teens. It is my hope that parents, teachers, youth development specialists, and after-school programs will purchase this book, read it, and disseminate its principles in … Continue reading Truth for Our Youth: A Self-Empowerment Book for Teens
Many regard The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin and The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois as classic literature. Indeed, both works are referenced, purchased, and deemed socially relevant several years after their original publication dates. Furthermore, … Continue reading Removing the Veil: The Humanizing and Cautionary themes of Dubois and Baldwin
If oppressive corporations can spend so much time, resources and energy to advertise and promote their (largely toxic) products to the public, I see no reason why the people cannot promote products which provide guidance and clarity to the public. In this spirit, I present you with an excerpt of my new book, The Blueprint: A BSU Handbook. “BSU” refers to “Black Student Union,” and this book is a manual for how to effectively organize for Black Student Unions on college campuses. At the same time, much of the information in this book (distilled from my own experiences as a … Continue reading About My New Book “The Blueprint: A BSU Handbook”
Some elements of contemporary African-American literature – with its focus on erotica and gangsterism – constitute a sharp departure from the rich history of literature Black people produced from the 18th to 20th centuries. Classic poetry, slave narratives and novels both demonstrated Black humanity and intelligence while providing strong critiques of the American sociopolitical order. Mainstream (white) America questions the value and relevance of Black literature (which makes sense given that it questions the value and relevance of Black people) , but this essay will demonstrate that the Black experience in America, and Black people’s efforts to express themselves, advocate for themselves, … Continue reading Themes of Liberation and Justice in Classic Black Literature
The “New Negro” cultural renaissance of the 1920’s was as much a social consciousness as it was a literary and artistic movement. Writing about this sensibility among Blacks, Alain Locke characterized it as being race-conscious, assertive and uplifting.[1] Of course, such sentiments appeared in black literature prior to the 1920s; Nineteenth Century writers like Frances Ellen Watkins Harper and George Moses Horton for example, captured similar themes in their writing. Several socio-economic factors facilitated the New Negro cultural renaissance, and explain its appearance during the 1920s: the depression of cotton-based southern agriculture due to the boll weevil; blacks’ large-scale migration … Continue reading Exploring the Theme of Racial Uplift in the “New Negro” and “Black Moses”
The literary movement known as the Harlem Renaissance produced a proliferation of Black prose and poetry that demonstrated both black writers’ ability to master traditional literary styles and devices, and to define and articulate a distinctly black cultural aesthetic throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Participants in the Renaissance – motivated by themes of black uplift, racial pride and solidarity – privileged and came to expect writing that promoted these themes. Works that did not overtly illuminate and challenge American racism or those that were perceived to illustrate black inferiority or folk culture often were criticized as being irrelevant. This article … Continue reading Not Another Protest Novel: “Their Eyes Were Watching God” as an Unconventional Literary Narrative
MY TRUE SENSE 