Black Land: Imperial Ethiopianism and African America

281 Pages·2019·10.578 MB·English

by  Nadia Nurhussein

black land

Black Land
imperial ethiopianism
and african ameri c a
Nadia Nurhussein
prince ton university press
princet on & oxford
Copyright © 2019 by Prince ton University Press
Published by Prince ton University Press
41 William Street, Prince ton, New Jersey 08540
6 Oxford Street, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1TR
press . princeton . edu
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019941480
ISBN 978-0-691-19096-9
British Library Cataloging- in- Publication Data is available
Editorial: Anne Savarese, Lauren Bucca, and Jenny Tan
Production Editorial: Karen Car ter
Jacket/Cover Design: Jacket design by Layla Mac Rory
Production: Merli Guerra
Publicity: Alyssa Sanford and Keira Andrews
This book has been composed in Miller
Printed on acid- free paper. ∞
Printed in the United States of Amer i ca
10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1
For my father

And what is more, these leaders cannot be put into air- tight racial
or national compartments— they belong to humanity. They belong
to posterity. Like stones thrown into the world- lake, their ripples
extend to the whole perimeter.
— david a. talbot, “emperor haile selassie moves ahead”

contents
List of Illustrations · xi
Acknowl edgments · xiii
introduction 1
chapter 1 Recognizing the Ethiopian Flag 21
chapter 2 Pauline E. Hopkins and the Shadow
of Transcription 51
chapter 3 Fashioning the Imperial Self 72
chapter 4 Imperial Embellishment 90
chapter 5 Empire on the World Stage 119
chapter 6 Martial Ethiopianism in Verse 144
chapter 7 George S. Schuyler and the Appeal
of Imperial Ethiopia 169
chapter 8 Claude McKay and the Display of Aristocracy 192
conclusion Langston Hughes’s Business Suit 209
Notes · 215
Bibliography · 2 35
Index · 251
[ ix ]