The New African Americans

by Brent Ashabranner
photographs by Jennifer Ashabranner

"Ashabranner adds to his series of acclaimed books about immigration . . . with this look at a perhaps less publicized and numerically smaller group, contemporary immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa. Admirably providing context with a concise summary of both the slave trade and larger immigration patterns through U.S. history, Ashabranner goes on to do what he does best, interviewing subjects whose stories give faces and life to the statistics. Reporting on immigrants from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, and Liberia (among others), Ashabranner is optimistic about their lives in this country, and insistent upon the positive effect they have had and will have on the economy and American culture. With a balance of engaging personal stories and readable consideration of public policy issues, the book fits another important piece into the American mosaic." —Horn Book Magazine (11–12/99)

"The conversational tone and integration of brief cultural vignettes into the narrative will appeal to both browsers and researchers." —School Library Journal (12/99)

"Lively black and white photos . . . show business people, professionals, artists, blue-collar workers, and students at work and at home with their families." —Booklist (10/15/99)

About the Author

Brent Ashabranner has written widely on American social history and complex social issues for young readers. He has worked in Ethiopia, Libya, and Nigeria for U.S. foreign assistance programs and for the Ford Foundation in the Philippines and Indonesia. He was director of the Peace Corps program in India and deputy director of the Peace Corps in Washington, D.C. Currently Mr. Ashabranner lives in Williamsburg, Virginia, and devotes most of his time to writing.

Other titles by Brent Ashabranner are

• The Lion’s Whiskers and Other Ethiopian Tales
• The Choctaw Code