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FREEDOMWAYS        FIRST QUARTER 1973

in Clay, the convention breaking, the front, but they never materialize because in total he is representative of the Ivy League or bourgeois Negro embracing all social structures or traditions which have oppressed Black people. He exhibits middle class refusal to act upon reality.

"The Limited Solution of Revolution," Chapter 4, is an analysis of Baraka's The Slave. Walker Vessel as "Super Nigger" falls short in his pretentions to heroism. His continued allegiance to the world which destroys him mars his chances of ever becoming a real hero. In spite of his takeover of the besieged white city, he displays allegiance to his white ex-wife.

Chapter 5, "The Black Musician: The Black Hero as Light Bearer." The most valid and moving expressions of the Black experience have been made in music. Today, the figure which most often appears in Black literature is the Black musician in trouble. Example: musician in Baldwin's short story-"Sonny's Blues"; Rufus, the drummer and central character in Another Country, and Richard, who was a rising star on the Apollo Theatre stage-the central male character in Blues for Mister Charlie.

Chapter 6, "The Streetman: The Black Hero as Lawbreaker" analyzes Ernest Gaines' Of Love and Dust. Marcus the central male character is the hard man, street type. Marcus, with Louise (the white wife of his overseer) helps to crumble the pattern of the Big House and the caste system. However, Marcus falls from the only promontory which a streetman considers worthy of climbing, that of controlling any game which he tries to run on others. In loving Louise, he loses control of his game.

The most important note in the author's Afterword which is entitled "The Demands of Blackness on Contemporary Critics" is her stress on the issue of how Black critics should function. The need to distinguish between criticizing the works of an author and attacking the person of the author is the paramount point that should be made by Black critics.

Give Birth to Brightness tells us of the Black experience in America from a Black perspective. It will have special meaning to students in the various college Black Studies programs. However, it makes interesting reading for anyone interested in Black American literature. It will be better understood by those having read the works of Baraka, Baldwin, and Gaines. However, if the reader has not read the descriptive works included in the study, in each instance, enough of the plot is included in the study to give a clear idea of the basics

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