Theorizing+and+Revising+History

** How do African American authors theorize history? **
Narrative and Oral traditions have always been a huge part of African / African American culture. This is largely due to the fact that the African / African American contributions to history have long been overlooked due to the prevalence of Eurocentric views on history and, in America especially, the long history of discrimination against people of color.

"The existing scholarship on the U.S. historical profession is largely Eurocentric in its orientation. Widely recognized historians of the U.S. historical enterprise, such as Wish (1960), Higham (1965), Kraus and Joyce (1985), Novick (1988) and Fitzpatrick (2002), have either totally ignored or given token attention to the contributions of African American historians" (Dagbovie, 605).

As a result, African American historians and authors theorize history and narrative as "'a weapon in the fight for racial equality' and 'a contribution to the knowledge and understanding of mankind'" (604).

Dagbovie, Pero Gaglo. "History as a Core Subject Study of African American Studies: Self-Taught and Self-Proclaimed African American Historians, 1960s-1980s". //Journal of black studies// //(0021-9347)//, 37 (5) , p. 602-629.

** How do African American authors then revise historical accounts? ** ** African American authors revise historical accounts in a variety of ways, but one of the most common methods is the production of a fictional work that is centered on the African American perspective and experience for any particular period of history or historical event. A perfect example of this type of revision is the work of Frank X. Walker in, //When Winter Come.// **

To hear hero makers tell it Wasn’t nobody on the great expedition but captains. An them always mentions Seaman Capt. Lewis’s dog before them remembers me.

An though all the books praise the captains the most valuable members a the party was even lower than privates, but be the ones that saved all our lives more than a time or two.

An then, there was me, just along to cook an carry, to hear them tell it, but there be two sides to ev’ry story an then there be the truth.

These are the words of York, the chief protagonist of //When Winter Come.// Through this opening poem, Walker reinforces a well-known quote most often attributed to Winston Churchhill: “History is written by the victors.” If one was to survey 100 people who were required to take a course on US History, undoubtably 100% of those people would have heard of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. However, closer to 1% would probably have ever even heard of York. The fact that York’s service to the country on the expedition was omitted from text books hundreds of years ago is understandable. After all, slavery was still in full effect in the United States and white men still controlled every aspect of public policy and determined what was “fact.” What is surprising is the fact that York’s contribution is still not recognized in classrooms across the country today. If not for a college level course in African-American literature, many educated people would not event be aware that a slave played an essential role in the success of that historic mission.

This is a perfect example of the ability of African American authors to theorize and revise history.