"Say it loud, I m black and I m proud,"

shouted James Brown during the Civil

Rights Movement of the 1960s. But what

connects black people today, in the 21st

Century? Do any qualities transcend

income and social status, being born

in the United States, Britain, France, or

the Caribbean, to create a universal black

culture ?

In a fascinating look into the intimate lives

of black men and women worldwide,

Lawrence C. Ross, Jr., the celebrated author

,of The Divine Nine: A History of African

American Fraternities and Sororities, creates

a fascinating, eye-opening, portrait of Black

identity today.

Each profile chronicles a day in the life

of a diverse group of people who speak

of the current black experience. Writers,

diplomats, educators, students, and

expatriates raise their voices along with

those of the rich and famous, including

celebrities such as Nikki Giovanni,

hip hop artist Guru, former Atlanta

mayor Bill Campbell, and Congressman

Chaka Fattah. With different languages,

different world views, and different

standards of living, all of these people

have their African heritage in common...

but what else? What beliefs, values,

and everyday activities unite a Brazilian

dentist, a British politician, and an

American porn star? The answers

discovered by author Lawrence Ross

become a rich compendium of shared

experience and astonishing revelations.

Illustrated with forty photographs,

THE WAYS OF BLACK FOLKS is a

provocative overview of a people, one that

will inspire dialogue and controversy

while it celebrates a unity that neither

circumstances nor geography can divide.