This booklet is of particular interest to teachers and researchers seeking to include African-American history in their curriculum or research. It includes documents which exemplify the type of resources available. See reviews below for additional information on the contents.

Editor:
Natalie A. Naylor is a Hofstra Professor who has taught Long Island and American social history. As Director of the Long Island Studies Institute, she organized the two symposiums where these resources originated. She has edited or co-edited several other Institute publications and written articles on educational history as well as Long Island history. She is now retired and a Professor Emerita.

Publication and Ordering Information:
Exploring African-American History was published by the Long Island Studies Institute in 1991 and reprinted in a revised, updated edition in 1995. The 65-page, 8-1/2x11 paperback is $6. It is available from the the Weathervane Shop of the Suffolk County Historical Society, 300 West Main Street, Riverhead, NY 11901, e-mail histsoc@suffolk.lib.ny.us, (631) 727 2881, fax (631) 727-3467; Heart of the Lakes Publishing, P.O. Box 299, Interlaken, NY 14847, e-mail, HLPbooks@aol.com, (607) 532-4204, fax (607) 532-4684); and from the Long Island Studies Institute, Hofstra University West Campus, 619 Fulton Avenue, Hempstead, NY 11549; e-mail LISI@Hofstra.edu, (516) 463-6411, fax (516) 463-6441.
Of related interest: Making a Way to Freedom: A History of African Americans on Long Island.

Contents:
Preface, by Natalie A. Nayor
Discovering the African-American Experience on Long Island, by Grania Bolton Marcus
Weeksville, by Joan Maynard
Lewis Latimer, African-American Inventors, and the Growth of U.S. Industry, by Alan Singer
Long Island's African-American Women, by Floris Barnett Cash
Manuscripts, Census Data, and Articles on African-American History, by Natalie A. Naylor and Dorothy B. Ruettgers
Incorporating African-American History into the Elementary Curriculum, by Jeanne Murray
Bibiliographies

Excerpts from Reviews:
"The several essays presented here in large format are brief but exceedingly pithy. . . . It is clearly an aid to instruction and curriculum development. It is also a concise introduction to those who have little knowledge of the subject." --Wendell Tripp, Editor, New York History, 75 (July 1994): 341.

"Materials in this booklet originated in two symposiums sponsored by the Long Island Studies Institute in 1990/91. While essentially on an adult level, the material offers valuable information related to the African-American experience on Long Island. One chapter, 'Incorporating African-American History into the Elementary Curriculum,' has some suggestions for using local resources." --Caroline Ward, Head, Nassau Library System Children's Services Book Review, J-07 (1991).

"Exploring African-American History reprints a selection of the essays presented at two 1990-91 symposia sponsored by the Long Island Studies Institute at Hofstra University. . . . This material, though specialized in nature, is exemplary in its presentation; furthermore, the suggestions, ideas, and methodologies demonstrated in the articles could easily have broader application." --Richard Bleiler, Academic Library Book Review, 8 (February 1993): 10.

"These materials, properly used, might indeed help to introduce secondary school children to some of the resources and methodologies used by researchers, while at the same time familiarizing them with the historical background of the black experience on Long Island. Similarly, Jeanne Murray's 'Incorporating African-American History into the Elementary Curriculum' is a sampling of suggestions and materials, designed to teach African American history to fourth graders. . . .
"This small volume should, at least in parts, prove to be a useful resource for elementary and secondary school teachers who wish to introduce the experience and history of Long Island's African American community into the classroom." --William McAdoo, SUNY at Stony Brook, Long Island Historical Journal 8 (Spring 1996): 251-53.

"While originally positioned within the larger context of multiculturalism on Long Island, the essays stand alone as insights into the history of African-American life on the Island. They appear oriented toward teachers at the elementary and junior high school levels, although much of the information presented is useful for scholars in the field of African American history.
"The lead essay, 'Discovering the African-American Experience on Long Island,' by Grania Bolton Marcus, presents an overview of the early history of Long Island's African population (with data primarily from Suffolk County) between the institutionalization (1654) and the aftermath of slavery (1845). The essay provides important background information for those later essays which discuss more specific features of the experience of African Americans on the Island, as well as for those primarily concerned with incorporating facts about African-Americans into the curriculum of elementary schools. . . .
"'Manuscripts, Census Data, and Articles on African-American History: Samples and Suggestions for Using in the Classroom,' by Natalie A. Naylor and Dorothy B. Ruettgers, offers interesting census data, newspaper clippings, and other documents relevant to African American history on Long Island. The concern is with developing a series of classroom discussions based on the wealth of material from the collection of the Long Island Studies Institute. 'Incorporating African-American History into the Elementary Curriculum,' by Jeanne Murray, consists of questions for fourth graders, guides for further study of African-Americans on Long Island, a calendar of important dates, and a list of the 'Fifty Most Important Persons in Black American History.' The last section presents five well-selected bibliographies on diverse aspects of African-American life, selected by Lynda Day, Natalie A. Naylor, Floris Barnett Cash, Vivian Wood, and Luetta Smith-Black.
"Exploring African-American History is an excellent start to understanding a neglected aspect of Long Island history. . . . One hopes that the information contained in this book becomes available to every one of the Island's school systems. If that happens, the exploration of the links between African-American and Long Island history may become a routine aspect of the lives of the children it touches." --Richard Williams, SUNY at Stony Brook Long Island Historical Journal, 4 (Spring 1992): 255-57.

"This useful reference work grew out of two symposiums sponsored by Hofstra University's Long Island Studies Institute in 1990 and 1991.
"Natalie A. Naylor's collection provides insight on manumissions, census data, and other historical information extracted from articles in newspapers and other sources, with several comprehensive bibliographies included at the end." --Floris Barnett Cash, Essay Review in Long Island Historical Journal, 10 (Spring 1998): 240.

<<Return to Long Island Studies Institute Homepage