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100 Greatest African Americans: A Biographical Encyclopedia. By Molefi K. Asante. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Pr., 2002. 350p. alkaline $49 (ISBN 1-57392-963-8).
In the introduction to this one-volume encyclopedia, Molefi Asante, a pioneer and leader in the field of African American Studies, states that what he hoped to accomplish with this compilation of one hundred biographical sketches was to "make accessible the history of some of the most important American personalities" (13). He further states "this book is not about the African Americans who have the largest popular following or the ones who sell the most CDs or who establish the best records in athletics" (13). In other words, this is not a book of the most famous African Americans but the most significant ones.
100 Greatest African Americans consists of a compilation of brief (about one to four pages each), alphabetically arranged biographical sketches of those who, in Asante's opinion, are the most important African Americans to distinguish themselves in the face of adversity and the "struggle for justice and equality" (18) since 1619. He uses five criteria to...