Mark Reynolds at PopMatters, "an international magazine of cultural criticism and analysis," just did a long, thoughtful reflection on my book on American views of Africa from a Pan-African perspective. It is entitled "You May Be Black or You May Be White But in Africa You're an American First."

Like many liberal-minded white academics, I wrestle with the question of how to approach African-American history and life in my work. Growing up in rural Clatsop County did not exactly give me a working knowledge of black culture, and I was immersed in the racism, patent and latent, of that time and place. But not addressing the lives of African Americans in one's work hardly seems like a workable or helpful approach, either.

The more I learn about African-American culture, the more I am struck by how ignorant I remain, and how complex the subject often is. Certainly listening--whether it is to friends talking or writers writing--to many different people is a good start.