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Review of Black Atlantic Crossings in HAHR

/ Sabrina Gledhill, PhD / Leave a comment

We’ve had the pleasure of reading a brilliant review of Black Atlantic Crossings coming to the August 2026 issue of the Hispanic American Historical Review. As one of the flagship journals in Latin American history, its recognition is a major milestone.

The original review is in Portuguese, but we have translated two standout extracts below:

...Sabrina Gledhill’s Black Atlantic Crossings: The Lives and Anti-Racist Tactics of Booker T. Washington and Manuel R. Querino presents an innovative analytical method by drawing upon a diverse range of primary sources across both the United States and Brazil. Based on solid research and a comprehensive bibliography, her study of the lives of two Black intellectuals and leaders in slave societies develops a fruitful dialogue with the historiography of slavery, intellectual history, and Afro-Atlantic and comparative history.

[…]

Following Paul Gilroy’s argument, Gledhill demonstrates that the Black Atlantic was interconnected in myriad ways—elements that make this study highly significant and essential reading for researchers of Afro-Atlantic history, Black intellectuals, biography, autobiography, and prosopography.

Praise for Black Atlantic Crossings
Praise for Black Atlantic Crossings

Black Atlantic Crossings is available to order on Amazon and through all major online booksellers.

Author-Meets-Reader Event at BRASA 26 in Salvador, Brazil

/ Sabrina Gledhill, PhD / Leave a comment

Author Sabrina Gledhill and commentator Luiz Freire will meet with readers on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in the foyer of the UFBA Main Library to discuss Gledhill’s book, Black Atlantic Crossings: The Lives and Anti-Racist Tactics of Booker T. Washington and Manuel R. Querino. Luiz Freire is an art historian, lecturer at the Universidade Federal da Bahia School of Fine Art, and author who has focussed on Querino’s work as a pioneer of Brazilian art history.

A autora Sabrina Gledhill e o comentarista Luiz Freire se encontrarão com os leitores na quarta-feira, 8 de julho de 2026, na entrada da Biblioteca Central da UFBA para discutir o livro Black Atlantic Crossings: The Lives and Anti-Racist Tactics of Booker T. Washington and Manuel R. Querino (também disponível em português sob o título Travessias no Atlântico Negro, publicado pelas editoras Edufba e Funmilayo). Luiz Freire é historiador da arte, professor da Escola de Belas Artes da Universidade Federal da Bahia e autor, tendo se dedicado ao estudo da obra de Querino como pioneiro da história da arte brasileira.

Event format:

  • The session will run for approximately 90 minutes 
  • Each table will host a discussion centered on one book 
  • Discussions may be conducted in the language of the participants’ choice 
  • Each book must have at least one designated commentator 

The commentator will open the session with brief remarks on the book’s contributions and significance, followed by questions for the author. The discussion will then expand to include audience participation. Attendees are encouraged to move freely between tables throughout the session.

Formato do evento:

  • A sessão terá duração de aproximadamente 90 minutos
  • Cada mesa sediará uma discussão centrada em um livro específico
  • As discussões poderão ser conduzidas no idioma de preferência dos participantes
  • Cada livro deve ter, no mínimo, um comentarista designado

O comentarista abrirá a sessão com breves considerações sobre as contribuições e a relevância do livro, seguidas de perguntas direcionadas ao autor. A discussão, então, será ampliada para incluir a participação do público. Os participantes são incentivados a circular livremente entre as mesas ao longo da sessão.

Blurb on Black Atlantic Crossings
Praise for Black Atlantic Crossings

Combatting Historical Erasure: Black Legacy Matters

/ Sabrina Gledhill, PhD / Leave a comment

In February 2026, Black History Month in the US, Democratic congressman Al Green held up a sign saying “Black people aren’t apes” during the State of the Union address. His protest was a direct response to a post from the President of the United States portraying Barack and Michelle Obama as simians. Knowledge of Black History would help non-Black people understand that this dehumanising comparison is nothing new.

In the UK, two leading Black actors, Delroy Lindo and Michael B. Jordan, maintained their poise but clearly expressed their shock and disbelief while a man suffering from Tourettes shouted the “N” word at the BAFTA ceremony. White people wondered what was so offensive – although knowledge of Black History would have helped them understand the centuries of trauma and violence embodied in that slur.

As Black History Month comes to a close in the United States, Funmilayo urges its readers – as we do every year – to celebrate Black History every month. This is not just because of the insistent attempts to erase it in the US, occasionally thwarted by pushback from the courts, but because “history may not repeat itself, but it rhymes”.

Funmilayo’s publications are available year-round to remind readers that Black people worldwide have been artists, soldiers, and intellectuals, and always fought back against attempts to deny their freedom and humanity. Our Unsung Heroes in Black History series is growing every year. We hope you will check out some (or all) of our titles:

The Need for Heroes: Black Intellectuals Dig Up Their Past

Heroes Sung and Unsung: Black Artists in World History

Manuel Querino (1851-1923): An Afro-Brazilian Pioneer in the Age of Scientific Racism

Black Atlantic Crossings: The Lives and Anti-Racist Tactics of Booker T. Washington and Manuel R. Querino

Dance of the Serpent: Portrait of Cobra Mansa, a Capoeira Angola Mestre

They are available through several online booksellers.

Read the Crediton Courier article on our Unsung Heroes series.

Blurb on Black Atlantic Crossings
Blurb for Black Atlantic Crossings

Dance of the Serpent: Portrait of Cobra Mansa, a Capoeira Angola Mestre

/ Sabrina Gledhill, PhD / Leave a comment

Click here to order now! https://amzn.eu/d/01IHg4fB

The story of Mestre Cobra Mansa is a powerful testament to transformation, offering inspiration not only to capoeiristas but to anyone interested in the resilience of the human spirit.

Often stating that capoeira saved his life, Cobra Mansa navigated a youth where the odds were stacked against him; while many of his peers fell victim to the systemic violence of the streets, he forged a different path. He rose to become one of the world’s most respected masters of Capoeira Angola, yet his journey didn’t stop at the edge of the roda. From embarking on a quest to Africa to uncover the art’s ancestral roots to his current work at Kilombo Tenondé, he has pioneered a decolonial approach to ecology. By blending traditional martial arts with permaculture, he has coined terms like PermAngola and CosmoAngola, reimagining our relationship with the soil and the soul.

This remarkable life story—spanning from the urban margins of Brazil to the forefront of global cultural activism—is now available for the first time in English.

The book is out, people around the world (from Poland to Japan!) are snapping it up, and the reviews are coming in:

Cover of Dance of the Serpent
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!

Reviewed in the United States on 15 January 2026

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Excellent book on the journey of Mestre Cobra Mansa! Lots of insights about his travels and Capoeira Angola. Loved it.

You can get it on Amazon and other online booksellers. Available in hardcover, black-and-white and full-colour paperback, and e-book editions. Here’s a link for the full-colour paperback https://amzn.eu/d/01IHg4fB

Mestre Cobra Mansa

Moscow, 24 April 2007. Photo by Zac Allan. Source: Wikimedia Commons / Pubic domain

Kindle e-book edition of “Dance of the Serpent: Portrait of Cobra Mansa, a Capoeira Angola Mestre” now available for pre-order

/ Sabrina Gledhill, PhD / Leave a comment

Editora Funmilayo Publishing is thrilled to announce that Dance of the Serpent: Portrait of Cobra Mansa, a Capoeira Angola Mestre is now available for Kindle pre-order!

Witness the astonishing journey of Mestre Cobra Mansa, who rose from the poverty-stricken streets of a Rio de Janeiro suburb to become a global icon of the Afro-Brazilian martial art. This definitive biography tracks his life from mastering the deceptive jogo of Capoeira Angola to dedicating his later career to environmental justice and permaculture in Brazil.

If you love stories of profound personal transformation, cultural preservation, and resilience, secure your digital copy today.

Release Date: 15 December 2025

Click here to pre-order Dance of the Serpent

From “Street Kid” to Global Icon: New Biography Chronicles the Transformative Life of Mestre Cobra Mansa

/ Sabrina Gledhill, PhD / Leave a comment

Editora Funmilayo Publishing is pleased to announce the upcoming publication of Dance of the Serpent: Portrait of Cobra Mansa, a Capoeira Angola Mestre, the definitive biography of one of the most influential figures in the Afro-Brazilian martial art/dance capoeira. Due out on 15 December 2025, the book traces the astonishing journey of a man who rose from the poverty-stricken streets of a Rio de Janeiro suburb to become a global master, transforming a martial art into a way of life, and dedicating his later career to environmental and social justice.

Mestre (Master) Cobra Mansa’s life is a profound testament to the power of Capoeira Angola as a tool for personal and communal liberation. Born in the deprived town of Duque de Caxias, he initially found refuge and strength in the practice, mastering the deceptive, strategic movements of the jogo (the game). He quickly ascended through the ranks of the GCAP (Grupo de Capoeira Angola Pelourinho), the organization founded by his mentor, Mestre Moraes. Along the way, he earned a PhD and became Dr Cobra Mansa.

The book details how, as a young man, Cobra Mansa became instrumental in establishing Capoeira Angola in the United States and worldwide. He has spent decades travelling, ensuring the art—a living link to the history of the Forced African Diaspora—retained its cultural authenticity and philosophical depth, always emphasizing that capoeira is more than a practice; it is a dynamic way of existing in the world.

The biography also examines the Mestre’s social activism. After teaching in the USA, Cobra Mansa returned to Brazil to found Kilombo Tenondé, an Afro-Brazilian centre dedicated to preserving the cultural heritage of Afro-Brazilians and Indigenous people while practicing permaculture and sustainable farming. His current mission is the preservation of ancestral wisdom and the construction of autonomous, thriving communities.

Dance of the Serpent is an essential read for enthusiasts of martial arts, Black history, cultural studies, and anyone seeking an inspiring account of transformation and purpose.

About Mestre Cobra Mansa

Mestre Cobra Mansa is a renowned master of Capoeira Angola, recognized globally for his deep understanding of the art’s African roots. His life has been dedicated to teaching, preserving cultural heritage, and applying the philosophies of Capoeira to environmental and community development projects in Brazil.

Mestre Cobra Mansa, Moscow, 24 April 2007. Photo by Zac Allan. Source: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

Celebrating Black History Month 2025 in the UK

/ Sabrina Gledhill, PhD / Leave a comment

The Significance of October

Black History Month (BHM) in the UK, observed every October, is a vital annual affirmation of the continuous and profound contributions of people of African and African Caribbean descent to British life. This month provides a crucial, focussed period to move beyond narrow, often fragmented historical narratives and instead highlight the sprawling, centuries-long legacy of Black individuals who have shaped society, culture, and intellectual life globally. While this annual celebration is necessary, its deeper purpose is to seed the knowledge and understanding that must take root all year long.

Celebrating the Sung and Unsung

The history recognised during BHM is one defined by both immense resilience and extraordinary creativity. We rightly honour the legacies of the Windrush generation and literary voices like Bernardine Evaristo and Zadie Smith. Yet, the crucial task is to move beyond the surface and uncover the foundational stories that support them. This commitment to wide recognition is central to Funmilayo’s mission, perfectly embodied by titles such as The Need for Heroes, which powerfully advocates for recognizing aspirational Black leadership, and Heroes Sung and Unsung, which is dedicated to illuminating the pioneering figures often overlooked by mainstream history. These works remind us that heroism and talent exist at all levels of society, waiting to be acknowledged.

The Global and Transatlantic Thread

BHM demands that we understand Black history not just as a British concern, but as a global, interconnected force. We must look beyond national borders to grasp the full scope of Black intellectual achievements. For instance, Funmilayo’s scholarship on the Afro-Brazilian polymath, Manuel Querino (1851–1923): An Afro-Brazilian Pioneer in the Age of Scientific Racism, demonstrates how pioneering thought emerged in the face of brutal institutional racism. Further expanding this view is Black Atlantic Crossings, which emphasizes the vital transnational dialogues between figures separated by geography, challenging us to see Black experiences as an integral thread within the fabric of global history.

A Promise of Year-Round Learning

Ultimately, the dedicated month of October serves as a powerful catalyst for a broader cultural shift. By promoting the rigorous recovery and visibility found in publications like Black Atlantic Crossings and Heroes Sung and Unsung, we fulfill BHM’s promise. The month is a joyous celebration, but it is also a renewed promise to maintain a year-round focus where the accomplishments and heritage of all Black people, from the famous to the previously forgotten, are recognized, valued, and taught without end.