Black History's Antebellum Origins.

Surveys efforts by blacks before the Civil War to develop their history. Black leaders denied the theory of an ignoble Afro-American past and brought forth data to refute this indictment. They accused whites of deliberately omitting black achievements and of bias in presenting a picture of black life. These efforts were primarily motivated by racial considerations, and black leaders tried to engender a sense of race pride and to develop a black self-identity. 122 notes.