Creating Black Americans: African American History and Its Meanings, 1619 to the Present.

Creating Black Americans: African American History and Its Meanings, 1619 to the Present by Nell Irvin Painter Oxford University Press, November 2005 $30, ISBN 0-195-13755-6

In her latest book, this Princeton professor and historian constructs an account of black history for a new generation of readers. She weaves a narrative that moves from pre-slavery America to hip-hop, illustrating her chronicle with images of creative work by black artists. Revealing both the African and the American dimensions of our history, Painter demonstrates how the past is in constant revision as new questions emerge and issues are revealed. Our continued explorations of history give way to newer and more diverse interpretations.

With photos of more than 150 works of art (including maps), Painter guides her reader through a historical journey. The images, most of them in color, add another dimension to the book's narrative, as visual art illustrates the author's account and documents perspectives on the African American experience. Among the artists featured are Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Beauford Delaney, Jacob Lawrence and Kara Walker. Painter (no pun intended) is a historian and not an art critic, however. Her primary purpose in including artists' work is to illustrate events and demonstrate how African Americans have interpreted and told their own histories, versus the accounts of black America created by white scholars and popular media.

The book is both current and engaging as the author covers a culture that spans across centuries. From black life before slavery to black voters in the 2000 presidential election, from incarceration to health care, Creating Black Americans will fascinate readers who are interested in the new ways we give meaning to the past.

--Reviewed by Aaron Bryant Aaron Bryant is a research fellow and doctoral student in American studies at the University of Maryland, College Pare