They Came in Chains: Americans from Africa

by J. Saunders Redding

Mr. Redding begins his search examination with the origins of slavery (almost as old as the human race) and traces in detail the changing circumstances under which Negros have lived in this country from that day in 1619 when the first twenty Africans were put ashore in Jamestown, Virgina. His reports carries us through more than three centuries of dramatic Negro American history, ending with the period immediately preceding the Supreme Court's memorable decision on school integration. The author gives close attention to economic factors, to the disastrous development of the race-caste concept, and to the slow, uneven, but genuine growth of the white conscience. They Came in Chains provides a firm base for understanding the civil rights movements as it has progressed through the past two decades. It is a lucid account of a people who were uprooted from their homes and transplanted to an inimical environment, yet aspired to and have finally begun to achieve that "impossible dream" of full citizenship as Americans.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

A graduate of Brown University, James Thomas Saunders Redding was an academic and historian who taught at Hampton Institute, Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., and Morehouse College in Atlanta before finishing his career at Cornell University.

Reviews

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

A BORE OF HISTORY OF AMERICAN BLACKS