Contemporary Literature Since 1975
- _The trends of the contemporary era are prevalent in today's modern literature.
- Much of the literature coincided with the emergence of different African American identities.
- There was an increase in the level of interest in our history.
- There was a significant number of Black female authors that made their mark in the world of literature.
- Toni Morrison was the first Black Nobel laureate in 1993.
- Many Blacks idenitified with the Ghanans fighting colonialism.
- Blacks and thier children believed that they had the capacity for moral heroism.
- Many Black power movements as well as antiwar movements began in the late 1960s.
- The goal was no longer integration but separatism.
- Many of the most influential members of the Women's movement were Black.
- Toni Cade Bambara, June Jordan, and Audre Lorde protested racism and sexism.
- Feminism became a link between the struggle against racial oppression.
- The Gay Rights Movement was one of the last proressive movements of the period.
- James Baldwin was considered the forefather of the gay rights movement.
- Black college students fought for curriculum that discussed their history and culture.
- Blacks considered themselves US citizens
- Many Blacks began to identify themselves as a member of a group of people with African descent.
- The popularity of the memoir caused it to become its own genre.
- Oprah's book club set the stage for higlighting works by new African American authors.
- Much literary and cultural enlightenment took hold in the schools.