The history of African Americans in southern Appalachia after the Civil War has largely escaped the attention of scholars of both African Americans and the region. In Facing Freedom, Daniel Thorp relates the complex experience of an African American community in southern Appalachia as it negotiated a radically new world in the four decades following the Civil War. Drawing on extensive research in private collections as well as local, state, and federal records, Thorp narrates in intimate detail the experiences of black Appalachians as they struggled to establish autonomous families, improve their economic standing, operate black schools within a white-controlled school system, form independent black churches, and exercise expanded—if contested—roles as citizens and members of the body politic. Black out-migration increased markedly near the close of the nineteenth century, but the generation that transitioned from slavery to freedom in Montgomery County established the community institutions that would survive disenfranchisement and Jim Crow. Facing Freedom reveals the stories and strategies of those who pioneered these resilient bulwarks against the rising tide of racism.

The Two Faces of American Freedom boldly reinterprets the American political tradition from the colonial period to modern times, placing issues of race relations, immigration, and presidentialism in the context of shifting notions of empire and citizenship. Today, while the U.S. enjoys tremendous military and economic power, citizens are increasingly insulated from everyday decision-making. This was not always the case. America, Aziz Rana argues, began as a settler society grounded in an ideal of freedom as the exercise of continuous self-rule—one that joined direct political participation with economic independence. However, this vision of freedom was politically bound to the subordination of marginalized groups, especially slaves, Native Americans, and women. These practices of liberty and exclusion were not separate currents, but rather two sides of the same coin. However, at crucial moments, social movements sought to imagine freedom without either subordination or empire. By the mid-twentieth century, these efforts failed, resulting in the rise of hierarchical state and corporate institutions. This new framework presented national and economic security as society’s guiding commitments and nurtured a continual extension of America’s global reach. Rana envisions a democratic society that revives settler ideals, but combines them with meaningful inclusion for those currently at the margins of American life.

Affirms, validates, and reiterates the yearning for an orderly, peaceful and just world The old adage “One picture is worth ten thousand words” is definitely true for Faces of Freedom Summer. There are simply not enough words to describe the period in our history that is recorded by the pictures in this book. As this book afirms, the resurgence of overt activities by hate groups—both the old traditional ones (e.g., the Ku Klux Klan) and the new ones (e.g., the Skin Heads)—however much the hard work and sacrifices of the modern civil rights movement humanized American society, much still remains to be done. The modern civil rights movement associated with the 1960s was not in vain, yet it did not eradicate from our society the evils of racism and sexism. While we activists made the United States more of an open society than it has ever been in its history, our vision and desire for the beloved community did not reach into all sectors of American society. “Freedom,” it has been said, “is a constant struggle, a work of eternal vigilance.” Faces of Freedom Summer brings to life that there was such a time and there were such people and, if such a people were once, then they are still among us. Yet, they may only become aware of themselves when they are confronted with visible evidence, such as the evidence contained in the pictures of Herbert Randall.

Internationally recognized trauma treatment expert Dr. J. Eric Gentry presents his three-step Forward-Facing(R) process for healing from toxic stress that you can start today, without needing to revisit the pains of the past. Freedom from and freedom to... It's an indisputable truth that we live in the safest, healthiest, and most advanced time period in history-yet we are sicker and more stressed out than ever. Technology and other modern-age advancements have connected us in unprecedented ways, but they also provide us with a 24/7-view to the world's problems. As stress-related physical and mental illnesses increase and suicide rates spike, we're a nation of people navigating not only the fears and uncertainties of our present but the experienced trauma of our childhoods-which informs our threat response in the here and now. Amidst all of this upheaval, we might ask ourselves: How can I find transformative healing and lasting resilience without escaping society altogether? It is possible to heal yourself, and this simple solution is one you can begin right now. Distilled from decades of neuroscience, psychotherapy, and evidence-based trauma treatment methods for immediate use by the everyday reader, Dr. Gentry's Forward-Facing(R) Freedom instantly gives you back control of your body and brain, without ever having to relive your traumatic stress. Imagine this scenario unfolding in your own life: Freedom from stress, anxiety, trauma, interpersonal conflicts and failed relationships, self-criticism, and even despair. All of it replaced with the freedom to-freedom to feel safe, peaceful, and in total physical and mental comfort; to experience boundless levels of joy and positive growth; to behave with intention and in alignment with your principles; and best of all, to have hope. In the style of pioneering, popular psychology works such as Bessel van der Kolk's The Body Keeps the Score and Bruce Perry's Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma that educate about trauma's physiological origins and how to override this instinctual response, Dr. Gentry's three-step Forward-Facing(R) process is poised to become the next touchstone in the neuropsychology field. Championing our innate capacities for overcoming a traumatic past, speaking truth to wellbeing over illness, and tapping into a well of intentionality and resilience to take on each day no matter what it may hold, Forward-Facing(R) Freedom offers a new kind of solution for toxic stress, one so desperately needed today. Here's what you'll learn as you adopt Forward-Facing(R) Freedom's practices in your own life: -Where stress really comes from-your nervous system as a means of survival-and techniques for mindful relaxation to release the stress and prevent more from accruing. -A deeper understanding of how the traumas of the past impact you today, and tools for replacing reactive thoughts and actions with intentional ones by defining your personal code of honor, mission in life, and vision for the future. -Simple methods for identifying and managing triggers to build resilience and foster post-traumatic growth, marked by better relationships and a new appreciation for life. It's time to take back control of your happiness and health- to face forward with these newfound abilities to heal your past, transform your present, and enjoy a future on purpose.

Argues that the inhabitants of Albemarle County (in rural Piedmont Virginia), white, black, and mixed-race treated each other more on the basis of a person's reputations than on the basis of state laws requiring restrictions on black freedom. Examples are drawn from law proceedings, (blacks did testify in courts despite its being against the law), marriages, residence, and other matters.

A Logos Book of the Year "If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide." Abraham Lincoln Nothing is more daring in the American experiment than the founders' belief that the American republic could remain free forever. But how was this to be done, and are Americans doing it today? It is not enough for freedom to be won. It must also be sustained. Cultural observer Os Guinness argues that the American experiment in freedom is at risk. Summoning historical evidence on how democracies evolve, Guinness shows that contemporary views of freedom--most typically, a negative freedom from constraint-- are unsustainable because they undermine the conditions necessary for freedom to thrive. He calls us to reconsider the audacity of sustainable freedom and what it would take to restore it. "In the end," Guinness writes, "the ultimate threat to the American republic will be Americans. The problem is not wolves at the door but termites in the floor." The future of the republic depends on whether Americans will rise to the challenge of living up to America's unfulfilled potential for freedom, both for itself and for the world.