Waiting for Lightning to Strike
by Kevin Alexander Gray

Description:

The year that saw an African-American run for the presidency as the nominee of the Democratic Party for the first time in U.S. history also witnessed a truly remarkable silence -- one that was scarcely coincidental. In all the millions of words written about a political ascent of one black man, there was virtually nothing about the descent of black leadership into well nigh total ineffectiveness. Barack Obama's personal itinerary was mapped in minutest detail. The larger itinerary of African Americans was mostly ignored.

Gray's take is radical and so his focus is always ample and humane. In these passionate pages he takes his readers into areas of darkness -- South Carolina's heritage of slavery, for example -- and into the vibrancy and heat of James Brown and Richard Pryor. Gray's intellectual footwork is as sure as Muhammad Ali's in his prime, and the k.o. is as deadly.

No one should venture a mile into the rough terrain of black politics and culture in America today without reading Gray's Waiting for Lightning to Strike. There's no keener mind, no sharper eye focused on the condition of black politics.

Waiting for Lightning to Strike
by Kevin Alexander Gray

ISBN: 9781904859918
ISBN-10: 1904859917
Publisher: AK Press
Publication Date: December 2008
Format: Trade Paperback, 261 pages, 5.5 " x 7.5 "
Book Type: New