| Barcode | Library status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1016676 | Item available |
Martin R. Delany (1812-85) has been called the father of American black nationalism, and his only novel, Blake, powerfully dramatizes his separatist philosophy.
Delany's hero is a West Indian slave who travels throughout the South advocating revolution, and later becomes the general of a black insurrectionary force in Cuba. Blake hopes that, with rebellion in Cuba and the expulsion of all Americans, Cuba's model as a self-governed black state will ultimately precipitate the downfall of slavery in the United States.
Focusing on the political and social issues of the 1850s--slavery as an institution, Cuba as the prime inteest of Southern expansionists, the practicality of militant slave revolution, and the possibilities of collective action--Blake is one of the most revealing novels of its period.