Blacks on John Brown

by Benjamin Arthur Quarles

John Brown is an endlessly fascinating historical figure. Here are two classic studies by a pioneer in African American studies, one about the place of John Brown in African American history, the other about the reasons for the unique esteem in which he has been held by successive generations of blacks.This two-in-one edition features a new introduction by William S. McFeely, author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning A Biography.

164 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1972

About the author

Quarles was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His father was a subway porter. He married twice, first to Vera Bullock Quarles, who died in 1951, and second to Ruth Brett Quarles. He had two daughters, Pamela and Roberta.

In his Twenties, Quarles enrolled at Shaw University and received his B.A. degree in 1931, M.A. degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1933, and Ph.D. in 1940. He worked as an instructor of history at Shaw University, Raleigh, North Carolina (1935–39), a professor and dean at Dillard University, New Orleans, Louisiana (1939–1953), and a professor of history and chair of department at Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland (1953–1974). At Morgan, Quarles reached near legendary status as the long-time head of the History Department, a revered teacher and counselor, an intellectual and professional mentor for two generations of African American scholars. Many of his books were required reading in the African American history courses that sprang up in eastern American Universities during the 1960s.

He was an active member of many political and historical organizations such as Project Advisory Committee on Black Congress Members, Department of the Army Historical Advisory Committee, and American Council of Learned Societies. He was one of the few men in the profession who openly supported the founding of the Association of Black Women Historians.

Quarles died of a heart attack at age of 92. In 1988 Morgan State University dedicated The Benjamin A. Quarles African-American Studies Room in the school library as a repository for his books, manuscripts, and memorabilia.

Reviews

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blacks On John Brown By Quarles, Benjamin

I'm a History Buff of some kind which may be biased for the book, as the book is less of a story and more of a history archive. The book Blacks on John Brown is a collection of letters from african americans who were writing letters for John Brown. The first part of the letters were from those who were considered with Johns Brown's raid to Harpers Ferry, like Fedreck Dougles being very against it, but there were many of those in support of it. In the middle of the book, after the raid on a slave uprising, many of the letters were of concern for what will happen next to them. The last part is the aftermath where many questioned if it was worth it, many started to reflect on what happened and started to get motivated and inspired from what happened.
For this being a book with information stored very unique information of a viewpoint during a time that most won't even hear makes this good pretty good. It's just good if you're someone who wants a traditional book story, well you're not going to get it here. I think it's well made for the most part also as well its information is historically accurate. This is very unpopular and I don't think the average person would care to read, as again it's more of an archive. I think also the cover of the book is kinda bland and empty, it's just all black with the words of the book on the side, it just makes people less interested in this book..
That's my opinion on the Blacks On John Brown By Quarles, Benjamin, I hope this was very informative for those who do want to pick it up to read.

[Frank Taylor]

Blacks On Brown(,John) w/W.E.B. DuBois