"Ford's overlap of past and present, narrative and commentary is masterful, and makes this volume all the more valuable to those readers wise enough to allow the past to inform the future. Of Blood and Sweat is a myth-busting work of genius that will stand as the last word on this vital subject for a long time to come."--Elizabeth Dowling Taylor, New York Times bestselling author of A Slave in the White House and The Original Black Elite
Painstakingly researched and documented, Of Blood and Sweat is a compelling look at the past that holds broad implications for present-day calls for racial equity, racial justice, and the abolishment of systemic racism, and offers invaluable insight into our understanding of Black history and the story of America. In this provocative and timely book, the award-winning author of Think Black tells the story of how Black labor helped to create and sustain the wealth of the white one percent throughout American history. Clyde W. Ford uses the lives of individual Black men and women as a lens to explore the role they have played in creating American institutions of power and wealth while not being allowed to fully participate or share in the rewards. As Ford reveals, in tracing the history of almost any major American institution of power and wealth you'll find it was created by Black Americans, or created to control them. In agriculture, politics, jurisprudence, law enforcement, culture, medicine, financial services, and many other fields. Today, activists have taken the struggle for racial equity and justice to the streets. Of Blood and Sweat goes back through time to excavate the roots of this struggle, from pre-colonial Africa through post-Civil War America, and offers invaluable insight into our understanding of Black history and the story of America.
Clyde W. Ford comes to the Busboys screen to tell us more about his work, as well as give us a captivating reading from the book itself.
This event is free and open to all, accessible through our Facebook and Youtube pages (@busboysandpoets).
The program will begin at 6 PM with an introduction from a member of our team.There will be time for Q&A with the audience before the end of the program, and you can purchase a copy of OF BLOOD AND SWEAT. Copies of the book are available for purchase through Eventbrite before, during, and after the program.
We recommend that viewers RSVP in order to receive direct links to the event from Busboys and Poets Books.
| Clyde W. Ford was born in NYC. He's the author of thirteen works of fiction and non-fiction. He's also a psychotherapist, an accomplished mythologist, and a sought-after public speaker. In 2006, Ford received the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Award in African American fiction. He was named a "Literary Lion" by the King County Library System in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2019. Clyde was voted "Best Writer of Bellingham, Washington" in 2006 and 2007 by readers of the Cascadia Weekly and he received the 2007 Bellingham, Washington Mayor's Arts Award in Literature. Ford is currently a speaker for Humanities Washington, an affiliate of the NEH, where he presents a program entitled, Let's Talk About Race, around the state. Clyde has participated in hundreds of media interviews and has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show, New Dimensions Radio, and National Public Radio. He lives in Bellingham, Washington where he writes aboard his 30-foot trawler, and cruises the waters of the Inside Passage. |
