Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019

Blain is the co-editor of Four Hundred Souls. She is a historian with an emphasis on 20th century US history. Her specific interests include the modern African diaspora and women’s and gender studies. Her book Set the World on Fire: Black Nationalist Women and the Global Struggle For Freedom won several prestigious awards and was nominated for many others.

Near the beginning of the book, Douglass asks, “What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us?” (5). He delivers the speech on the 4th of July.

Douglass was a former slave who rose to prominence as an author, speaker, and statesman. He became a symbol of dignity, fearlessness, education, and power to Black people in America. He founded an abolitionist newspaper called the North Star and wrote three autobiographies, including Life and Times of Frederick Douglass.

He appears in many of the essays of the book. Early on, his words are hopeful and defiant as he urges African Americans to struggle, better themselves, and insist on equality. Over a century later, activists are still quoting him concerning many of the same unsolved problems. They have been using his words for over a century and there is still work to be done.

Martin Luther King Jr. was the central figure of the non-violent civil rights movement. Although his message of pacifism and of loving one’s enemy was often at odds with Malcolm X and other Black Power leaders, they all wanted the same thing: respect, equality, and dignity for African Americans. King’s legacy appears throughout Four Hundred Souls. His message of hope informs the ongoing fight for equality, and even his assassination became and continues to be a pivotal recruiting tool for new activists.

King called America “The biggest purveyor of violence in the world” (332). His nonviolent approach to progress demonstrated his complete commitment to the civil rights cause, and it cost him his life.

Malcolm X was the author of The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Malcolm was a Black activist and member of the Nation of Islam until cutting ties with the group in March 1964, less than a year before his assassination at the hands of Nation of Islam gunmen. Rejecting pacifism for most of his career, he took a complementary and often contradictory approach to Martin Luther King Jr. He believed in taking the fight to the enemy. He was also a proponent of black dignity and solidarity.

His teachings and work influenced many of the writers in Four Hundred Souls. As “Black Power’s most crucial avatar” (330), Malcolm converted many people to the Black Power movement. His “bold critique of white supremacy, Western colonialism, and anti-Black racial violence” (330) continue to inspire people today.

His speeches influenced popular hip-hop songs from Public Enemy and many others, giving weight to the rise of the socially conscious hip-hop era. Many of the authors in Four Hundred Souls cite Malcolm as an enduring influence on their thinking and a pivotal figure in their political and social awakening.