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I Heard It Through the Grapevine explores how rumors that run rife in African-American communities, concerning such issues as AIDS, the Ku Klux Klan and FBI conspiracies, translate white oppression into folk warnings, and are used by the community to respond to a hostile dominant culture.
Price: $30.95
Pages: 260
Publisher: University of California Press
Imprint: University of California Press
Publication Date:
28 September 1993
Trim Size: 9.00 X 6.00 in
ISBN: 9780520089365
Format: Paperback
"A feast for those interested in historical and modern black folklore. . . . Engaging."
"Illuminating. . . . Although [Turner] deals primarily with some seemingly preposterous rumors circulating among blacks in the United States, her book demonstrates how and exemplary case study of folklore can reveal the positive side of these seemingly damaging rumors. Moreover, her work opens up new perspectives on black culture."
"A necessary addition to studies of African-American culture, with insights for all races into the effects of oppression and misunderstanding."
"A feast for those interested in historical and modern black folklore and for both supporters and critics of conspiracy theory."
"Fascinating. . . . Turner explores the origins of rumors, how they spread and their sometimes devastating effect. . . as she examines everything from Atlanta child murders to Liz Claiborne's designer clothes, Kool and Marlboro cigarets, Reebok footwear and Troop sportswear."
"A compelling read. . . . Through sleuth-like research of rumor and myth in African-American culture, Turner uncovers perhaps the biggest conspiracy of all: centuries of systematic racism in the United States. She traces the history of black folklore in this country from the moment the first slave ships arrived to the present day, repeatedly providing powerful evidence that the African-American fear of white America is not simply unfounded cultural paranoia."
Patricia A. Turner is Senior Dean of the College Dean/Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education; Professor, Department of African American Studies and World Arts and Culture at the University of California at Davis, and the author of Ceramic Uncles & Celluloid Mammies: Black Images and Their Influence on Culture (1994).
Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
1. Cannibalism: "They doe eat each other alive"
2. Corporal Control: "They want to beat us, burn us,
whatever they can do"
3· Conspiracy I: "They ... the KKK ... did it"
4. Conspiracy II: "They ... the powers that
be ... want to keep us down"
5· Contamination: "They want to do more than just
kill us"
6. Consumer/Corporate Conflict: "They won't get me to
buy it"
7· Crack: "See, they want us to take all of those drugs"
8. Conclusion: From Cannibalism to Crack
Epilogue: Continuing Concerns
Bibliography
Index
Preface
Introduction
1. Cannibalism: "They doe eat each other alive"
2. Corporal Control: "They want to beat us, burn us,
whatever they can do"
3· Conspiracy I: "They ... the KKK ... did it"
4. Conspiracy II: "They ... the powers that
be ... want to keep us down"
5· Contamination: "They want to do more than just
kill us"
6. Consumer/Corporate Conflict: "They won't get me to
buy it"
7· Crack: "See, they want us to take all of those drugs"
8. Conclusion: From Cannibalism to Crack
Epilogue: Continuing Concerns
Bibliography
Index