Black Empire

by George S. Schuyler, Mint Editions (Contribution by)

Overview

A pioneering work of Afrofuturism and antiracist fiction by the author of Black No More, about a Black scientist who masterminds a worldwide conspiracy to take back the African continent from imperial powers—for fans of the Oscar-nominated film American Fiction

A Penguin Classic

“An amazing serial story of Black genius against the world” is how Black Empire was promoted upon its original publication as a serial in The Pittsburgh Courier from 1936 to 1938. It tells the electrifying tale of Dr. Henry Belsidus, a Black scientific genius desperate to free his people from the crushing tyranny of racism. To do so, he concocts a plot to enlist a crew of Black intellectuals to help him take over the world, cultivating a global network to reclaim Africa from imperial powers and punish Europe and America for white supremacy and their crimes against the planet’s Black population.

At once a daring, high-stakes science fiction adventure and a strikingly innovative Afrofuturist classic, this controversial and fearlessly political work lays bare the ethical quandaries of exactly how far one should go in the name of justice.

For more than seventy-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 2,000 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798888970355
Publisher:	Mint Editions
Publication date:	01/17/2023
Series:	Mint Editions (Black Narratives)
Pages:	282
Sales rank:	907,348
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

George S. Schuyler (1895 - 1977) was an author, journalist, social commentator and somewhat controversial figure. Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Schuyler’s formative years were shaped by his time in the U.S. military. Enlisting at age 17, Schuyler rose to the title of First Lieutenant before going AWOL due to a racist encounter with a Greek immigrant. Sentenced to five years for the abandonment, Schulyer was released after less than a year for being a model prisoner. In the aftermath of his release, he lived at the Phillis Wheatley Hotel in New York City, coming to learn the teachings of Black nationalist, Marcus Garvey. Not fully convinced of Garvey’s teachings, Schuyler would separate himself from both Garveyism and socialism, contributing articles to the American Mercury and embracing capitalism. Embarking on a career in journalism, Schuyler would find success and acknowledgement for his editorial skills as he took on the role of Chief Editorial Writer at the Courier in 1926. That same year he would pen a controversial piece, “The Negro-Art Hokum" for The Nation which—combined with his advocacy for capitalism—further alienated himself from his contemporaries. The article, which argued that art should not be segregated by race and that Black artist had no true style of their own, would inspire Langston Hughes’ famous, “The Negro and The Racial Mountain.” Five years after this, Schuyler would try his hand at a long fiction form, producing notable novels such as Slaves Today (1931), Black No More (1931), and Black Empire (1936 - 1938); and while Schuyler would continue to produce work up until the point of his death, it was his public and expilicit conservatism and opposition to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s-70s that would push both he and his literary work into obscurity. At the time of his death, his legacy and talent as a writer were so overshadowed by his politics that no one within Black circles wanted to interact with his work at all. Despite this, Schuyler produced some of the first satires by a Black writer and addressed intra-community issues at a time when most Black authors appealed solely to the middle-class.

Table of Contents

Foreward, by John A. Williams
Editorial Statement
BLACK EMPIRE
“The Black Internationale: Story of Black Genius Against the World"
"Black Empire: An Imaginative Story of a Great New Civilization in Modern Africa"
Afterword, by Robert A. Hill and R. Kent Rasmussen
APPENDIXES
A. Schuyler’s Story Notes (ca. 1936-1937)
B. “The Rise of the Black Internationale” (1938)
Bibliography: George S. Schuyler's Pittsburgh Courier fiction
Acknowledgements

Editorial Reviews

Samuel I. Brooks was actually a pseudonym for George Samuel Schuyler, noted black satirist of the early 20th century. This book is an intricate tale of black nationalism, science fiction, and incredible feats of derring-do intended to bolster black pride and accomplishment in the uneasy years before World War II. The book originally ran as weekly serialized fiction in the Philadelphia Courier from 1936 to 1938. Principal character Dr. Henry Belsidus is obsessed with releasing blacks from the crushing tyranny of racism and poverty, and he plans to take over the world and enlists black intellectuals to help him. Underlying the story is an attempt to resolve the philosophical, economic, and cultural chasms between blacks and whites. The book reflects the hope and despair felt by blacks during this time. A fascinating and worthwhile addition to general collections; essential for black history collections. Highly recommended.-- Kevin M. Roddy, Oakland P . L . , Cal.

Library Journal

"The Black Internationale and Black Empire, which, in the manner of the pulp science fiction of its day, combine action packed adventure with futuristic technology, are an Afrocentrist's dream, and ought to enjoy a large readership among those in search of a Black utopia." -- New York Times Book Review

Henry Louis Gates

02/06/2023

Originally serialized between 1936 and 1938 in a newspaper that served Pittsburgh’s Black community, these two linked novellas from Schuyler (1895–1977) are indispensable reading for anyone interested in early Afrofuturism. In “The Black Internationale: Story of Black Genius Against the World,” journalist Carl Slater reluctantly agrees to serve as secretary to the ruthless Dr. Henry Belsidus, a wealthy Black American nationalist who, by the tale’s end, has violently wrested control of Africa from white imperialists. “Black Empire: An Imaginative Story of a Great New Civilization in Modern America” continues the story with Belsidus and his crew of handpicked specialists defending their takeover of the African continent through cunning espionage and the deployment of technology ripped from the pages of the era’s science fiction magazines. In both tales, Schuyler, a journalist, steeps his progressive criticism of “white world supremacy” in the palatable popular storytelling conventions of the day, creating rip-roaring yarns with sharp satirical points. The result, though undeniably pulpy, is still searing in its indictment of entrenched racism. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

An incredible science fiction novel . . . It’s just a fantastic book, filled with romance and war and politics. I loved this book, and I couldn’t have been more surprised by it.” ―Bill Goldstein, NBC’s Weekend Today in New York

“Imagine W. E. B. Du Bois, Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver and Marcus Garvey rolled into one fascist superman, and there you have Dr. Henry Belsidus. . . . [Black Empire is] an Afrocentrist’s dream.” —Henry Louis Gates, Jr., The New York Times Book Review

“Indispensable reading for anyone interested in early Afrofuturism . . . Searing in its indictment of entrenched racism . . . Rip-roaring yarns with sharp satirical points.” ―Publishers Weekly

“Fascinating . . . A proto-Afrofuturist potboiler poised between Black Panther and the works of Percival Everett . . . Lurid, pulpy fun.” ―Library Journal

“A fascinating piece of work . . . Fast-paced, action packed . . . A solid read―there’s good adventure here, and Schuyler tells his story quite well―and it’s also of literary-historical interest. The Penguin Classics edition is also an excellent one, from editor Brooks E. Hefner’s useful Introduction to the interesting appendices.” ―The Complete Review

From the Publisher