This carefully researched history details the military, political, economic, and cultural experience of black people during the era of the American Revolution. Beginning with Crispus Attucks, the first man killed in the Revolutionary action, the authors recount a series of fascinating personal histories. The text is highlighted by excerpts form letters, journals, newspaper articles, and other documents, as well as by poems, broadsides, and passages from magazines of the day.

The book is a revised and expanded edition of the authors' classic catalog that accompanied a pioneering exhibition mounted in 1973 by the National Portrait Gallery.

Sidney Kaplan was the recipient of a Bancroft Award from the Journal of Negro History. His American Studies in Black and White: Selected Essays, 1949-1989 was also published by the University of Massachusetts Press. Emma Nogrady Kaplan, for may years a reference librarian at Smith College, is the compiler of Guide to Research in Afro-American History and Culture.

"A treasure story of information on African-American history. The reader has not only a description of the events and the people involved but also a pictographic record of the artifacts relating to those events, both supported by an excellent listing of bibliographic source material."—Maryland Historical Magazine

"Written for a diverse public audience, it serves also as a valuable resource for nonspecialists and particularly for teachers."—Journal of Southern History