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Toronto, Ontario (BlackNews.com) -- There aren't that many people who haven't heard of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks or Malcolm X. They are Black history legends revered internationally just as any superstar athlete or singer. But how many people in our communities know about the contributions and importance of people like Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, George Washington Carver, Patricia Bath or Marie Van Britton Brown? To help provide a more in-depth view of the numerous inspiring personalities of Black History, a new novelty book entitled Enlightened Precipice has been launched.
Created by Luanga Nuwame, an award-winning YouTube cardboard crafter known as 'The Homemade Game Guru', Enlightened Precipicewas designed to be more than a simple paperback novel or boring textbook. Created to garner the interest of children and adult collectors alike, this book is really a collection of trading cards, poker-ready playing cards and paper crafts merged together.
The over 80 Black history trading cards featured within are a combination of well known individuals like Marcus Garvey, Jackie Robinson and Booker T. Washington, plus lesser known but equally important figures like Fannie Lou Hamer, Josephine Baker and St. Maurice. The entire set is actually a reprint of the original landmark series created from 2006 to 2008 by Nuwame. After a hiatus of five years, the cards have been upgraded, retouched and ranked alphabetically as one complete set.
Nuwame also added in new mini sets of collector cards to celebrate abolitionists and "awesome" women. The 8-card 'Helping Hands' set spotlights abolitionists who worked alongside Black men and women to abolish slavery and apartheid. The 7-card 'Women of Awesome' set features historic women who are barely acknowledged or recognized in pop-culture, yet their contributions to culture are so profound they deserve to have their names in equal status with established Black history legends.
For fans of card games like Poker, Blackjack, Euchre, Crazy 8s and Go-Fish, Enlightened Precipicecontains a never-before-released set of Black History trivia playing cards. The fifty-six card deck (including two Jokers and two Wilds) has five multiple-choice and/or true and false questions about the featured individual on the face side of each card. This feature allows players to quiz each other and create new games within their established favourites.
The final section of the 40-page glossy Enlightened Precipicebook contains a selection of Nuwame's favourite West African Adinkra symbols for owners to customize. Adinkra images originate from Ghana and each symbol reflects on positive themes and life lessons. The Egyptian Ankh 'key of life' is also available to customize however the owner sees fit.
Enlightened Precipice is produced single-handedly by Luanga Nuwame through his company Azikwe Ltd. While watching over his daughter, he did all the design, research and layout work. The book retails for $19.99 exclusively on www.lanuwame.com. Nuwame hopes to sell 1000 pre-order copies which will be adorned with his personal signature and individually numbered on the cover. The books start shipping on February 15th.
Critics might ask if a book like this is needed in a current age of technology, internet and busy lives. Though trading cards still sell well and card games like Poker are national sporting events, Nuwame sees a societal shift that makes the need for greater Black History awareness necessary regardless of the medium.
"There is a growing movement of anti-Black History on the internet, a younger generation that thinks dysfunctional celebrity culture is real Black culture and for whatever weird reason, some politicians and TV pundits are making disingenuous and insulting comments about the severity of slavery and Dr. King's legacy," stated Nuwame.
"When you see this happening and then talk to educated Black friends who laugh about how little they know about their own history, there is something wrong with the entire picture! If we as Black people won't learn about and appreciate our history, why would anyone else?"
Nuwame plans to retire Enlightened Precipicein March and begin work on a 2014 edition.
Additional information about Enlightened Precipice, with pictures and lists of all individuals featured, can be found at www.lanuwame.ca/EnlightenedPrecipice.html
For more information or to schedule an interview with Luanga Nuwame, contact him directly at (647) 407-2614 or email Luanga at azikwetoys@hotmail.com
CONTACT:
Luanga Nuwame
647-407-2614
azikwetoys@hotmail.com
