Black Folk – The Roots of the Black Working Class

Through a series of compelling and heart-warming stories, Black Folk presents a unique historical perspective on the Black American experience. Kelley takes us back in time to study her roots, while also providing a lens through which to view our present. Readers will appreciate the author’s ability to balance storytelling and thoroughness.

Bought the book as a birthday present for my son, well worth it.

Dr. Kelley brilliantly honors the contributions of the Black working class. She has taken me on the journey of celebrating the amazing contributions of MY ancestors and I loved every single moment. Dr. Kelley is a gifted writer and storyteller. Black Folk is a story for EVERYONE. By telling the stories of black people, she’s telling the stories of all people.

The author of this outstanding book, and her readers, have been badly treated by the publisher, Liveright Publishing Corporation, a Division of W.W. Norton & Company. The author's picture on the dust jacket is terrible. It is so dark her face can barely be made out. I have never seen anything like it. Also, every image in the book, most from national collections, has been so poorly reproduced that faces and other details can hardly be made out. I cannot imagine the reason for this shoddy photo reproduction in an otherwise handsome, well built volume. Professor Kelley is an attractive woman with an engaging personality and a beautiful smile. She deserved a handsome picture of herself, not the dark, barely visible image that appears on the book jacket of her important book.

It's wonderful how Professor Kelley weaves her family's history into America's historical narrative. BLACK FOLKS points us to a new understanding of how community and unions evolved and reminds us why we should always pay careful attention to Black women's history.