Flashbacks

A brilliant and thought-provoking collection of articles, profiles, and opinions from one of the twentieth century’s most acclaimed African American writers

A journalist, novelist, and educator, John A. Williams was never afraid to rock boats or take aim at society’s most sacred institutions, white and black. Flashbacks is an essential compilation of Williams’s best nonfiction pieces and an enthralling combination of memoir, biography, and social commentary that sheds a fascinating light on the black experience in America and abroad.

With Flashbacks, the author of The Man Who Cried I Am and Captain Blackman reports on a wide array of world events and political realities, from South African apartheid to Israel’s victory in the Six-Day War and the American civil rights movement. He offers insightful appreciations of some of the century’s most celebrated and controversial black public figures, including Marcus Garvey, Jack Johnson, Charlie Parker, Dick Gregory, and Malcolm X. With insight, candor, and brutal honesty, Williams explores the struggle of the African American middle class and the roots of his own black awareness in essays that remain provocative, powerful, courageous, and relevant today.