Description

These two guides document the various ways in which blacks have practiced self help starting with the formation in 1785 of the Free African Society, the first of many mutual aid societies established by free blacks in the United States.  The author emphasizes the organizations and individuals who were significant to efforts to improve the black condition, while also analyzing the ideology that legitimized various philanthropic exercises.  He considers both the successes and the failures and includes a look at those who sought to “redeem” Africa and Africans.