Anthropologists, historians, and other scholars and artists from across the Americas discuss the Africanity of blackness and the blackness of whiteness in the Americas; global Africa and the creation of the modern world; African pasts and pan-African presents; recovered histories, recreated nations, and reconstituted communities; and African diasporan presences, resistance, and ways of knowing. The 23 essays were presented at the February 1996 African Diaspora and the Modern World conference held in Austin, Texas. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)