New Revised Edition Posted

A new revised edition of “Beyond Southern Africa, A Story of the Fight for Freedom” just posted on Smashwords.com. The newly edited version includes a range of text corrections and improvements to critical scenes. The new edition will post to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, KoboBooks, iBookstore, Sony eBookstore and other outlets in coming weeks. We’ll let you know when each outlet posts the new version. Thanks for your support

“Be Good” Episode Four, A Luta Continua on Vimeo

 

Prexy Nesbitt, organizer for justice from U.S. to Southern Africa

“Be Good” Episode Four, A Luta Continua on Vimeo

For Women’s History Month

Women’s History Month reminds us that women have played and continue to play crucial and indispensable roles in struggles for liberation. The same was true of the struggle for the liberation of Southern Africa, from Queen Nzinga to Josina Machel, Ruth First, Miriam Makeba, and countless others.

With this in mind, I’m particularly proud that the women of “Beyond Southern Africa, A Story of the Fight for Freedom” are not also-rans or unimportant figures, but are central to the novel and its unfolding. They play critical roles throughout the development of the story and of its two leading protagonists. Indeed, by the time the novel ends, it becomes clear that women have transformed the story and, by implication, the wider struggle it depicts.

We honor ourselves when we pay tribute to the role that women play in the continuing struggle for justice and freedom.

Celebrate Women’s History Month

Timeline Photos. For as long as women of African descent have been in the United States, they have resisted oppression. Enslaved in the Americas, they organized themselves and others to fight for freedom. Black women fought for inclusion in the women’s suffrage movement after the abolition of slavery.

Women gained the right to vote in 1920, but Jim Crow racial segregation and disenfranchisement — which was enforced by extreme violence — curtailed Black women’s suffrage. Although African-Americans were systematically denied the right to vote during the Jim Crow era, many resisted this oppression by both overt and subversive means.

Despite the risk of great personal loss, African American women’s militant activism and leadership during this oppression helped create the Civil Rights movement of the 20th century. Men such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X have become icons of the 1950’s and 1960’s, but the organizational skills and grassroots activism of women such as Ella Baker, Septima Clark, Rosa Parks and Fannie Lou Hamer propelled the movement forward to many successes and inspired a new generation of activists.

Source: http://bit.ly/Xra7w9

First Amazon/Kindle customer review of “Beyond Southern Africa, A Story of the Fight for Freedom”

4.0 out of 5 stars

Good, solid, active story of the struggle for freedom in Africa and America February 1, 2013

By Stephen Matlock

Format:Kindle Edition

I thoroughly enjoyed this overview of the struggle for freedom in Africa and in the U.S. and how the author tied the two together.

There were moments where the writing was wonderfully active, such as the opening scene and the electrical towers or the scenes of struggles at “Darrone” college and the surrounding community. And I especially enjoyed the character of “Marcos,” a man between two worlds who tied the various events together. I had a hazy understanding of the events in Southern Africa during the 60s and 70s; this book helped to bring these events to light.

This is a good book to explain the growing awareness of nationalism (I can’t actually think of the right word, but it’s the sense of knowing who you are and your place in your family and your own people) in Africa, and to also give greater understanding of African-Americans to gain their rightful access in America.

The writing shows great skill and mastery of plotting and exposition.

A good, solid book.

iTunes – Books – Beyond Southern Africa, a Story of the Fight for Freedom by Malik Stan Reaves

iTunes – Books – Beyond Southern Africa, a Story of the Fight for Freedom by Malik Stan Reaves.

In the spirit of Dr. King and the upcoming month devoted to Black History

This week marks the celebration of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the impending celebration of Black History Month here in the U.S. in two weeks time. These events inspire reflection on struggles for justice and dignity, and against racism. By this time, fifty years ago, most African countries had thrown off European colonialism or were well on their way to doing so by the end of the decade. The Portuguese colonies were a different matter.

The Portuguese all too often met protests with bombings and massacres. In Angola in January 1961, Angolans staged boycotts to protest poor working conditions and the hated pass cards they were forced to carry. The colonial authorities responded by bombing twenty villages, killing more than 400 people. Angola’s liberation war started soon after. Suffering from similar atrocities, the people of the tiny colony of Guinea-Bissau in West Africa launched their liberation war against Portugal fifty years ago this month. Mozambique would follow suit the next year.

Yet how many of us know any of the many stories of the heroism and sacrifices of these brave, determined people and their fights for freedom? How many know of the story of Josina Machel, the first lady of Mozambique’s liberation war, a story so inspiring that I was moved to name my daughter after her? There are so many stories like this and now with the emergence of the Internet, they are available to us in hundreds of sources if we reach out and search for them.

But some stories can’t really be told in articles that simply state facts. Some stories must be told as they always have been told since the dawn of time, as epics of life and spirit. Like many of us, I have always been inspired by such stories and have sought to add one to the library of the human imagination. In keeping with the spirit of Dr. King and the upcoming month devoted to Black History, if you have not already done so, I hope you will join me in visiting this part of the human adventure that I call “Beyond Southern Africa, A Story of the Fight for Freedom.”

“Beyond Southern Africa” is now available in the Kindle store at Amazon.com.

Beyond Southern Africa, A Story of the Fight for Freedom: Kindle Edition

Praise for “Beyond Southern Africa, A Story of the Fight for Freedom”

Recent favorable comments about “Beyond Southern Africa, A Story of the Fight for Freedom” posted on Facebook and the book’s Facebook fan page

Debby Cannon: “Beyond Southern Africa is an excellent read. Not only is it an exciting story about the lives of two young men, it also gives an accurate lesson of struggles (both here and in Africa) that has been forgotten by most Americans. What I enjoyed most was the way the plot was woven and unpredictable. Whenever I thought I knew where the story was taking me, I got a pleasant surprise. I look forward to the next book from Mr. Reaves.”

Hal Ross Carmichael: “Just started reading it and the first 8 chapters are great.”

Marshell Corum: “It is amazing reading. This does not feel like reading, it feels like an adventure. Love it.”

On the Best-sellers list at KoboBooks

At KoboBooks, “Beyond Southern Africa, A Story of the Fight for Freedom” is now in:
the top 9% of Best-selling Fiction (#12,102 out of 142,736 fiction books listed), and
the top 11% of Best-selling Historical Fiction (#1,565 out of 14,309 historical novels listed).

And we’re just getting started. Thanks for all your help.