Speak Out in Thunder Tones: Letters and Other Writings by Black Northerners, 1787-1865 : Da Capo Press : 9780306808203 : 030680820X : 22 Mar 1998 : This impressive collection, drawn from a wealth of original research into previously untapped sources?including letters, diaries, memoirs, speeches, poems, songs, newspaper articles, advertisements, a ship's log, and official documents?allows African Americans to speak afresh across more than two centuries. Besides the expected voices of Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth, this book makes vivid the experiences and views of a diverse range of lesser-known but equally fascinating personalities: Ira Aldridge, one of the great Shakespearean actors of his day; William Allen, the first black college professor in the country; the astronomer and mathematician Benjamin Banneker; Paul Cuffe, owner of a fleet of merchant ships; Martin R. Delany, the father of black nationalism; James Forten, war veteran, inventor, and one of the wealthiest men in