Cherry Hill, NJ - Africana Homestead Legacy Publishers (AHLP) is pleased to announce publication of "But We Have No Country: The 1851 Christiana, Pennsylvania Resistance" by Ella Forbes (Ph.D. dissertation, 1992, Temple University; revised). In her exceptional study, Forbes analyzes the dramatic September 11, 1851 encounter between William Parker and his self-defense organization, and Maryland slaveowner Edward Gorsuch, who was killed while trying to re-enslave four fugitives, as well as key preliminary and subsequent events. AHLP will present Dr. Forbes, who is Associate Professor of African American Studies and Graduate Coordinator at Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the first of a series of local book signings from 2:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. on Sunday, October 4, 1998 in the Seminar Room at Primerica Financial Services, 909A South Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A second signing will take place 1:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M., Saturday October 24, 1998 at Ancestors Alive book store, 1730 W. Diamond Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Announcements of other dates will follow.
In media accounts published at the time and in several 19th and 20th century histories, the incident was commonly known as the Christiana Riot. In his review of this text, historian Wilbert Jenkins, Ph.D., Temple University, notes, “Ella Forbes has produced an excellent piece of scholarship on the 1851, Christiana, Pennsylvania Resistance ... that also correctly places this event into the history of the resistance of individuals of African descent to enslavement and oppression in the Western hemisphere ... But We Have No Country is among the top scholarship on African-American resistance produced in the last two decades.” Two other advanced reviews highlight the importance of her study: Emma Jones Lapsansky, Ph.D. historian at Haverford College, commented, “Using subtle choices of vocabulary and careful re-reading of the documents, Forbes uses an African-centered perspective to expand our knowledge of the interplay of ethnicity, religion, age, gender, geography, and family ties that shape the depth and texture of 19th century African-American communities.”; Leroy Hopkins, Ph.D. at Millersville University found, “Dr. Forbes ... arrives at corrective to the traditional perspective that denies Africans agency in arguably the most important incidence of resistance before the Civil War. This perspective is strengthened by the weaving of a variety of primary and secondary sources, Thus, not only the resistance in Christiana is viewed differently, but the phenomenon of violence as a means to achieve social change–a theme usually avoided by historians.”
Due to advance notices on But We Have No Country, Brian Lockman, Vice President of Operations and Producer/Host at the Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN) interviewed Ella Forbes for his program, PA Books. The hour-long segment, giving viewers the chance to hear Dr. Forbes discuss her work in detail, will air Sunday, October 18, 1998 at 9:00 P.M. Several cable companies in the Commonwealth carry PCN programs; a complete listing is available from PCN by calling (717) 730-6000.
"But We Have No Country: The 1851 Christiana, Pennsylvania Resistance," ISBN: 0-9653308-1-8, is available in hardcover for $29.95. Individuals may purchase copies from these sources: 1) special order at any bookstore 2) mail order from Attn.: Order Entry, BookMasters, Inc., PO Box 388 Ashland, OH 44805, phone: 1-800-247-6553, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, fax: 1-419-281-6883, E-Mail: order@bookmaster.com.; 3) the Internet at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. Bookstores hosting signings will keep the book in stock. For additional information or to schedule appearances by Ella Forbes, send an e-mail to public-relations@ahlpub.com |
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