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A c k n o w l e d g m e n t s Extremely fortunate is a person who is able to do what he always dreamed of, even more so if that dream is to write history. To live every day with your heroes and heroines as you attempt to reconstruct the worlds they lived in – tracing their trials, tribulations, and triumphs along the way – is a joy and a blessing. Researching and writing history, however, is not accomplished alone; it comes together with significant assistance, and I have a number of people to thank, personally and professionally, for allowing me to follow my dream. Reading, researching, and writing about African American history is a labor of love that became so much easier when I entered the W. E. B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies at the University of Massachusetts in the fall of 1998. My six years in the department were enlightening and inspiring . The faculty, including Esther M. A. Terry, Ernest Allen Jr., John H. Bracey, Jr., Steve Tracy, Manisha Sinha, James Smethurst, Michael Thelwell, William Strickland, and Robert Paul Wolff, were supportive of my work and were willing to converse with me on any subject of black history and literature at the drop of a hat. From an intellectual standpoint, my years associated with the graduate program at UMass were everything a student would desire. It was truly a mentoring environment. I have been the generous recipient of grants and fellowships that have assisted my research along the way. I thank the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, and the Department of History at Yale University for the Cassius Marcellus Clay Fellowship. I also thank the University of Kansas for a grant from the New Faculty General Research Fund as well as the Department of African and AfricanAmerican Studies for providing much-needed financial assistance to aid in the completion of this study. I am indebted to Ernest Allen, Jr. and John H. Bracey, Jr., both of whom have extended themselves in invaluable ways. Professor Allen was always enthusiastic about this project and it greatly benefited from my extended Acknowledgments 381 colloquy with the exceptional Grandmaster E. He tirelessly read pieces, fragments , and drafts of this manuscript, as well as listening, critiquing, and offering heartfelt encouragement along the way. The prodigious Professor Bracey has also stood steadfast by this project, always providing sage advice and counsel, and offering copious reading recommendations and sources to push the study. An ever-growing circle of vigorous intellectuals has inspired me to become a better scholar and writer through their conversations and examples. I would particularly like to thank David W. Blight for his assistance and conversations throughout the years. I also wish to single out David A. Goldberg, who read the entire manuscript multiple times with generous scrutiny and encouragement. Additionally, James Smethurst also closely read and shared his feedback regarding the manuscript. I am grateful to those who have lent their support and advice about the individuals and organizations discussed in An Army of Lions. These individuals have taken valuable time over the years to discuss, read, and comment upon elements of this project and black intellectual history in general. I would especially like to thank Elsa Barkley Brown, Fitz Brundage, Randall Burkett, Cornelius Bynum, Susan Carle, Sundiata Cha-Jua, Deborah Dandridge, James Danky, Dennis Dickerson, Jacob Dorman, Jonathan Earle, Tom Edge, Bertis English, Stephanie Evans, Jeffery B. Ferguson, Ruben Flores, Kevin Gaines, Willard Gatewood, Glenda Gilmore, Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., Kenneth Hamilton, John Higginson, Darlene Clark Hine, Jonathon Holloway, Randal Jelks, Yemisi Jimoh, David Katzman, Clarence Lang, Minkah Makalani, Dan McClure, Zebulon Miletsky, Greg Mixon, Fred Morton, Bruce Mouser, David Peavler, David Roediger, Leslie Schwalm, John Stauffer, William Tuttle , and David W. Wills. I also deeply appreciate my colleagues in the Department of African and African-American Studies at the University of Kansas. They have made KU a pleasant place to teach, as well as to conduct research and write. Furthermore , I am grateful to the extended African Americanist community at the University for their dialogue on black intellectual history. My editor at the University of Pennsylvania Press, Robert Lockhart, provided careful guidance throughout the entire preparation of this manuscript . I thank him for his assistance and his patience. He promised me “hands-on attention” and he most certainly delivered on that promise. I truly thank him for his sagacious advice and...

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