Abstract
1982, who could forget it? On the national scene,
Harold Washington became the first African American mayor
of Chicago. The birthday of Martin L. King, Jr. became a
National Holiday. Audre Lorde delivers her provocative speech
at Harvard University during the festivities for the Malcolm X
weekend. Michael Jackson released “Thriller.” Ronald Regan
extended the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Satchel Paige died.
Alice Walker published The Color Purple. The United States
held a groundbreaking ceremony in Washington, D.C., for a
monument to our men and women who served in Vietnam. A
first-class stamp costs twenty cents. On the international scene,
Margaret Thatcher was the Prime Minister of the United
Kingdom as Great Brittan found herself in armed combat with
Argentina over possession of the Falkland Islands. Tensions
were high between Israel and the Palestine Liberation
Organization. Mount Cameroon erupted. Ghana and Nigeria
were experiencing economic crises. Apartheid was still in play
in regard to Black South Africans. Sites in Soweto were the site
of several bombings and massive civil unrest. And, Cornel
West publishes Prophesy Deliverance! An American
Revolutionary Christianity.