Say It Loud: Great Speeches on Civil Rights and African American Identity

Following Say It Plain , a collection of speeches that provides “a sweeping perspective on evolving issues of black identity in the struggle for equality” ( Booklist ). In “full-throated public oratory, the kind that can stir the soul”, Say It Plain collected and transcribed speeches by some of the twentieth century’s leading African American cultural, literary, and political figures. Many of the speeches were never before available in printed form ( Minneapolis Star-Tribune ). Following the success of that groundbreaking volume, the Say It Loud! book adds new depth to the history of the modern struggle for racial equality and civil rights―focusing directly on the pivotal questions black America grappled with during the past four decades of resistance. With recordings unearthed from libraries and sound archives, and made widely available here for the first time, Say It Loud! includes powerful speeches by Malcolm X, Angela Davis, Martin Luther King Jr., James H. Cone, Toni Morrison, Colin Powell, and many others. Bringing the rich immediacy of the spoken word to a vital historical and intellectual tradition, Say It Loud! illuminates the diversity of ideas and arguments pulsing through the black freedom movement.