Heritage of Power: Marie LaVeaux to Mary Ellen Pleasant (Enhanced Edition) - Softcover

Bibbs PhD, Susheel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1892516047 ISBN 13: 9781892516046

Publisher: M E P Publications, 2012

Synopsis

This, the latest and "enhanced" edition of Heritage of Power, provides a new index, additional images, and new, in-depth research on the life and civil-rights legacy of Mary Ellen Pleasant -- called "The Mother of Civil Rights in California." Did this daring "woman of mystery" really aid the abolitionist John Brown in his raid on Harper's Ferry, and was she aided by New Orleans’ most famous voodoo queen Marie LaVeaux with a “Heritage of Power”? If so, what was this heritage, and how did their meeting come about? Heritage of Power answers these questions, clarifies the lives of both women, explains Pleasant's title, and establishes her importance to modern-day civil rights. As it demystifies the lives of both women, the work presents new research and documents Pleasant's work with John Brown. Using the latest research, this work asserts that Pleasant met LaVeaux, who empowered her to become "The Mother of Civil Rights in California," and it supports Mary Pleasant’s claim that she indeed "was a friend of John Brown." In so doing, Heritage of Power chronicles Pleasant's life, sets Pleasant's it in the context of social activism, and clarifies her traditional Diaspora faith, voodoo/vodou, which aided both women. The 1998, 2011 revised edition, and the 2012 enlarged size have been retired.

About this title

About the Author:

Author/filmmaker/performer Susheel Bibbs, PhD, directs The Living Heritage Foundation in Sacramento and continues work as a filmmaker and touring artist/presenter. Bibbs, who taught at U.C. Berkeley for 26 years, holds advanced degrees in Communications (focused on African American-Diaspora History) and Opera and Vocal Performance from Boston University and The New England Conservatory. In media, Bibbs has won national broadcast honors, including two Corporation for Public Broadcasting Best Program Awards and a national EMMY. She is known nationwide and in Canada for her research and touring Chautauquas (enactments) on Mary Ellen Pleasant, which continue today. In 1999, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors awarded Bibbs their Highest Commendation for contributions to the Arts and Humanities and dubbed her the “Foremost Authority on Mary Pleasant.” Recently she won six international film-festival/broadcast awards for documentaries on Pleasant, one of which continues on PBS nationwide. To honor her body of work, The City Museum in St. Louis and California African-American Museum in Los Angeles also awarded her commendations for “extending the awareness of her community” and “making contributions to women’s history.” (www.mepleasant.com).

About this edition

• Publisher: M E P Publications
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1892516047
• ISBN 13: 9781892516046
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 188