Allen B. Ballard

Where I'm Bound
Where I’m Bound is the very first novel about African-American soldiers in the Civil War. Here’s what the critics say about it:

“A rousing Civil War novel written in clear, strong prose.”
“What a terrific story!”
“Marvelous and moving.”
“A powerful and gripping epic about the African-American military experience in the Civil War.”
“A vivid, fast-paced, and poignant novel.”
Chosen as a "Notable Book of the Year" by the Washington Post, 2000.

One More Day’s Journey: The Story
of a Family and a People
The very first modern work to center on the Great Migration of African-Americans from the fields of the South to the cities of the North. At the same time, the book is a history of Blacks in South Carolina and in Philadelphia. It is made vivid and real as the author centers also on the history of his own family and their journey from Greenwood, South Carolina to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Here’s what some critics said:

“It is informative and emotionally moving, and I recommend it.”
“I recommend it highly to all who would add to their knowledge of American history. It is dramatic and revealing.”
“Powerful.”
“A vivid evocation of an important chapter in Afro-American history.”

The Education of Black Folk: The Afro-American Struggle for Knowledge in
White America
This book is a history of African-American education in the United States, from its beginnings in the bushes hidden away from the slave-masters to the development of black colleges in the South, and to the creation of African-American Studies programs and affirmative action programs in the 1960s. Written in the heat of the latter struggles, where Ballard was a participant, it brings home the mighty battles that were fought to bring about changes in college admission requirements so that they might more readily reflect the ethnic composition of this country. Absolutely indispensable reading for those who would know about where and when college affirmative action programs began.