Where can I go to find the truth about African American history?

Question

I can't rely on the text books because stuff that they have written is not all true. Many times we don't know our own history that well. I know many of our ancestors where kings and queens and had all that type of bling bling. America is good at hidding stuff they don't want you to know and it's still like that today. My mom said if I really want to know. I can go to China because back in acient timesAficans and Asian people would trade and they would share their history, stories and fabbles.
Where else do you think I can find the unadulterated truth about my history? I'm young and I want to know:)

Answer 1

Too many good answers already entered here, for me to say much else.




DE

Answer 2

Nothing anyone has written, or all of any book, is true. If you are really interested in this subject it will take your whole lifetime and you will never finish. How do you know many of your ancestors were kings and queens? From a textbook? Or was it just something you heard? If you don't believe the text books, why do you believe anything you hear? Is it just what you want to believe, or can you handle the truth? The real truth is that humans can't understand the whole truth, much less handle it. So this is not something that can be answered in even a few years, or by one book. It will take your studying for decades, not just reading history but finding out how history is known and written about , the detective story aspects of it (it's called methodology) and then doing your own research in the primary sources, which are what historians use to write their books. Don't be afraid! It takes a lot of hard work, but it will be worth it in the end.

Answer 3

very few where kings and queens if any in fact, the Africans that where rounded up, where similar in life style to the American Indians in there way of life and living conditions, there therms for king and queen did not mean they had aas you say bling bling, they had no government structure, they had no army, if they had, they would not have been rounded up so easily, which to be truthful is why they where rounded up by the Dutch in the first place, they resisted very little, where not advanced in civilization as to be able to prevent the whole thing in the first place. No one organized relief parties to tarvel over the ocean to rescue there people, no one journeyed to other nations to speak on behalf of there stolen people, and in fact, no one in Africa raised a hand to do much of anything abut it either. NOne of that justifies anyone enslaving anyone, slavery was always wrong, always a moral issues for many people, and few Americans ever owned slaves, less than15 of the south owned slaves, it was the very wealthy, Don't blame historians past or present for the view or insight, that always changes, and not always lies as you suggest. As to be called African Americans, I for one take that as an insulting label, Africa did nothing for the Black people then or now, Blacks in in the US are Americans, just as American as Whites, And any other legal citizens, attaching political correct labels only causes division, and any people divided cannot endure. I am an American, Just an American, please drop the trendy divisive labels, and research yourself the history instead of criticizing a few books and there writers, many black, and I mean hundreds have written books on early life in the Americas, and some are very accurate and some are not much more than misguided anger, but it is up to the reader to glean any truth, no one has all the right answers.

Answer 4

Unfortunately you will likely not be able to research back that far with geneology as even if you are lucky enough to be able to find records dating back to your first ancestors in American you will likely not be able to find records of them in Africa.
Additionally, there may be a noble or two that angered someone and became a slave, but for the most part the slaves that were brought over were poor and had no 'bling' or any royal titles. In fact there seems to be a lot of evidence that coastal tribes would kidnap members of other tribes and sell them to European slave traders sometimes in exchange for things like tobacco.
There is not a lot of actual evidence that you would be able to find about your own specific heritage, but you could get some information about your general heritage if you can find out where you are from. You could use site like the Genographic Project at the National Geographic website and it might point where your ancestors are from (but be aware that surprises seem to pop up a lot for African Americans when using this site - sometimes they will get the stream of dna saying what part of Africa their family is from and other times they may find a white relative in the mix)
But that aside, once you know the area you can look at the greater society, and many exceptional kingdoms existed in Africa for many centuries, which were on par or greater than the European civilizations at the time. But of course all historical documents have to be taken with a grain of salt. Although you mention China, it too had a bias against the African tribes and took slaves (albeit more for punishment than for need of manpower). So there is a lot of information out there on Mali, Songhai, Zimbabwe and other nations, Africa is a big place with a lot of diversity and you should figure out where you are from first.

Answer 5

i think you do no longer flow to American faculties American historic past does conceal this. Why does it no longer conceal the Irish indenture slaves? They have been used in the past the African slaves that makes extra experience!!!!! in the past the Civil conflict, slaves and indentured servants have been seen very own belongings, and that they or their descendants must be bought or inherited like all different personalty. Like different belongings, human chattel became ruled usually by using regulations of guy or woman states. recover from it end being the sufferer upward push up and get forward you do no longer see the Irish crying on the subject of the previous get off the pity pot and flow on! you are able to proceed to be oppressed and land up no the place or you are able to seem up those info for your self and instruct your self and this type you are able to ask smarter questions.

Answer 6

Which, African or American? (ha, ha!) Believe it or not, I have learned more history by doing genealogy research of ancestors than through any of the history books, esp. text type.
My suggestion, go to any of the good bookstores and browse. Of course, the public libraries.
And then there is the net...just google in whatever people, tribe, clan, town, country, etc., and check the websites.

Answer 7

1st,congratulations on your journey.i don't know when i've heard a more honest cry for discovery!Yes,it's true,Africa&China did trade a goo deal in ancient times.in fact,Dance Theater of Harlem has a piece in thier repetiory about it! Believe it or ot,there are reliable books that chronicle the black experiance from the earliest days of our history that stretches back millenia.Go to the library(there's no way you can buy them all)&start with The Harlem Renaissance in the 20's&work back from there.ours was not always a life of slavery°radation,but one of colors,mystery&riches that we're only now beginning to uncover.(No,you're not paraniod in order to support the idea of slavery,whole histories of whole nations were wiped out in order to paint us a "Nothing but savages"

Answer 8

as to history in general, i can only repeat the words of a poor judge of people, pontius pilate, who famously said: "truth? what is that?"

and he apparently had the (lack of) courage of his (lack of) convictions.

as well as the assurance that a majority of the mob would agree with him.

Answer 9

any black history museum