Linda Marinda Heywood

"Contested Power in Angola, 1840s to the Present shows that the Ovimbundu of central Angola have been key players in the history of modern Angola. The work focuses on the tensions between the centralizing forces of the state and the local, regional, and ethnic tendencies that have characterized the modern history of Angola."--BOOK JACKET.

"Bookended by remarks from African American diplomats Walter C. Carrington and Charles Stith, the essays in this volume use close readings of speeches, letters, historical archives, diaries, and memoirs of policymakers and newly available FBI files to confront much-neglected questions related to race and foreign relations in the United States. Why, for instance, did African Americans profess loyalty and support for the diplomatic initiatives of a nation that undermined their social, political, and economic well-being through racist policies and cultural practices? Other contributions explore African Americans' history in the diplomatic and consular services and the influential roles of cultural ambassadors like Joe Louis and Louis Armstrong. The volume concludes with an analysis of the effects on race and foreign policy in the administration of Barack Obama. Groundbreaking and critical, African Americans in U.S. Foreign Policy expands on the scope and themes of recent collections to offer the most up-to-date scholarship to students in a range of disciplines, including U.S. and African American history, Africana studies, political science, and American studies"-- "Bookended by remarks from two African American diplomats, Walter C. Carrington and Charles Stith, this volume incorporates the perspectives of scholars and practitioners of U.S. foreign policy on questions of race and foreign relations. Contributors begin with the late 1800s, examining both the roles of formally appointed African American diplomats and the broader early roles of African American religious, military, and educational institutions in foreign policy. Together, the essays confront several tensions within the field, including the paradox of loyalty, or why African Americans would profess loyalty and support the diplomatic initiatives of a nation which persisted in undermining their social, political, and economic well being through racist policies and cultural practices. Most essays depend on close readings of primary source materials including speeches, letters, historical archives, diaries, and memoirs of policymakers and newly available FBI files. Other essays address the less formal but no less influential roles of African American cultural ambassadors, such as Joe Louis, Louis Armstrong, and hip hop artists. The volume concludes with analysis of the effects on race and foreign policy of President Barack Obama, who was both a beacon of hope and a disappointment to observers of U.S. foreign policy both stateside and abroad"--

One of history's most multifaceted rulers but little known in the West, Queen Njinga rivaled Elizabeth I and Catherine the Great in political cunning and military prowess. Today, she is revered in Angola as a heroine and honored in folk religions. Her complex legacy forms a crucial part of the collective memory of the Afro-Atlantic world.--

331 readable pages of well organized, very well researched African History describing the complicated relationships amongst Angolan Kings, Queens and Lords; Congolese Christian Kings; Catholic Jesuits and Capuchins; and Portuguese slave traders for the period named in the Title. Co-winner of the 2008 Melville Herskovits Award for the Best Book Published in African Studies. Includes a comprehensive index and an appendix on Names of Africans Appearing in Early Colonial Records.