Northeastern library of Black literature

"Shaped by the author's belief that capitalism inexorably led to the exploitation of Southern farmers during Reconstruction, 'The Quest of the Silver Fleece' dramatizes the economic conflict between cotton growers and Northern capitalists. W.E.B. Du Bois uses Miss Sarah Smith's controversial school for Southern black children as the fictional device that links wealthy cotton planters, their exploited black laborers, and the interests of Wall Street and Washington"--Page 4 of cover.

This novel by one of the most significant African American writers of the twentieth century reflects the author's apocalyptic vision of black revolutionary impulses and reactionary white conspiracies in the late 1960s. Originally published in 1969, this parable of racial intrigue centers on the killing of an unarmed black youth by Sergeant Carrigan, a white policeman. The murder prompts Eugene Browning, second in command at the Institute for Racial Justice, a civil rights organization, to seek revenge by hiring a professional killer to assassinate Carrigan. Browning enlists the help of an aging Mafia don, who passes the hit to a former terrorist from Israel. This single act of retribution sets in motion a crisis of unprecedented proportions as a band of black militants proceeds to launch a violent plan of its own. As the dramatic events unfold, Browning struggles to put his troubled personal and professional life in order.

"Born to a Jewish father and black mother who divorce before she is two, Oreo grows up in Philadelphia with her maternal grandparents while her mother tours with a theatrical troupe. Soon after puberty, Oreo heads for New York with a pack on her back to search for her father, but in the big city she soon discovers that there are dozens of Sam Schwartzes in the phone book. Oreo's mission turns into a wickedly humorous picaresque quest, reminiscent of the ancient Greek myth of Theseus. This is an ambitious and playful narrative that challenges not only the accepted notions of race, ethnicity, and identity, but also those of the novelistic form itself."--Jacket.