Unsung

Michelle D. Commander is the associate director and curator of the Schomburg Center, a historic branch of New York Public Library and the world's foremost archive of slavery material. She previously served as associate professor of English and Africana Studies at the University of Tennessee. Kevin Young is the director of Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and poetry editor of the New Yorker. He was previously the director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. He is the author of a number of books of poetry and prose, including Stones, shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize, Jelly Roll: A Blues, a finalist for both the National Book Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Poetry; and Bunk, a New York Times Notable Book, longlisted for the National Book Award. He was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2016.

“As comprehensive a collection as now exists and one that should be required reading in history and literature courses.”—Kirkus, starred review“Remarkable anthology...As a whole, this collection showcases the vastness of Black thinking and writing, and nicely complements works by Martha S. Jones and Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers. Complete with a list of suggestions for further reading, this winning anthology is a must for all interested in Black history, but unsure where to start.”—Library Journal, starred review“This anthology highlights the overlooked role that enslaved people played in emancipation.” —The New York Times Book Review“The song sung in these pages is not solely an aria to agency or a tragic chorus about limits; it is both. It perseveres in the mission described in Arturo Schomburg’s 'The Negro Digs Up His Past' as excavating history to 'restore what slavery took away.' It shouts against the silencing alluded to in the Unsung title. Like the Harlem Renaissance and the Schomburg Center, Unsung is a work of both history and art.” —Washington Post