Pretty good book, would be great for the YA audience. A little jargon-y at times, but one of the better "don't be a racist" books to come out in recenPretty good book, would be great for the YA audience. A little jargon-y at times, but one of the better "don't be a racist" books to come out in recent years....more
One of the best books I've read in a long time, and that's not surprising because Bryant wrote the first good sports book I ever read Shut Out: A StorOne of the best books I've read in a long time, and that's not surprising because Bryant wrote the first good sports book I ever read Shut Out: A Story of Race and Baseball in Boston and the best sports biography I ever read The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron. This is saying a lot because I'm a jaded history professor who reads for a living.
Incisive analysis of sport, race, patriotism, and society. Factual and deeply researched. Well written, and just about every page of my copy has underlining and stars all over it. I really can't say anything more positive about a book.
Thesis: The Heritage is one of protest. This has collided with an increasingly authoritarian culture and a post 9/11 world that conflates cops with soldiers and lionizes these professionals as heroes. Kaepernick and others speak truth to power in this climate, and it's explosive. ...more
It's only mid-February, but I'm calling this best book of the year. Theoharis has a masterpiece here (as if the Rosa Parks biography wasn't). Fresh reIt's only mid-February, but I'm calling this best book of the year. Theoharis has a masterpiece here (as if the Rosa Parks biography wasn't). Fresh research, beautiful writing, timely subject, and poignant analysis - this book is incredible. I'm a professor specializing in the Civil Rights Movement so I've read a lot of books on the subject, and this truly is a standout.
In a few words: YOUNG PEOPLE were huge in the civil rights movement and WOMEN were vital to its success but these groups often get underappreciated by the way history is presented. The STRUGGLE was ONGOING in places other than the south, and riots happened after years (decades) of neglect from city government. MLK and the movement itself was deeply UNPOPULAR for its radicalism and its tactics. Our heroes were hated in their time.
This is a BEAUTIFUL history of courage and community. This is a TERRIBLE history that shouldn't have had to happen - and it will be terrible if we misremember what happened....more
Maybe I liked this anthology more than I should, but I live in NY (not the city) and I'm a specialist in Civil Rights Movement history. The premise ofMaybe I liked this anthology more than I should, but I live in NY (not the city) and I'm a specialist in Civil Rights Movement history. The premise of this book is that NYC belongs on the mental map of the Black Freedom Struggle right along side Selma and Montgomery. This anthology is sort of a scholarly mixtape in that every chapter is either adapted from a larger work or developed into a book later on, so it's a good way to get exposed to recent historiography and pick which subjects/authors you want to read more about later.
My favorite chapters were Brian Purnell on Brooklyn CORE and their direct action to get better city services like garbage clean up. I also really liked Martha Biondi's piece on CUNY's open admissions policy and how it helped build a Black and Latino middle class in the city. Biondi shows that there's lots of ways to make a difference....more
A comprehensively researched story of a little-known civil rights group that was a sibling organization to SNCC. Loaded with facts and details, this iA comprehensively researched story of a little-known civil rights group that was a sibling organization to SNCC. Loaded with facts and details, this is truly history for historians. I can't imagine an average (or even good) reader getting into this, but it's a must for scholars and specialists interested in religion and the civil rights movement. 5* for legit research, 2* for readability - not the author's fault at all, anytime a groundbreaking book like this comes out it's gonna be a tough one to wade through. I most recommend chapter 4 about how white volunteers continued working with Charles Sherrod and the Albany Movement in the Black Power years. ...more
Shetterly does a great job tying in the NASA workers' lives with broader developments in the space race and the civil rights movement. A nice book thaShetterly does a great job tying in the NASA workers' lives with broader developments in the space race and the civil rights movement. A nice book that fills a lacunae in our awareness of the periods. A groundbreaking stork of woman in science in the 1950s and 1960s, and an awkward place for a Black woman to be in segregated Virginia at the time. ...more
Still, this is a worthy book if you're interested in the Civil Rights Movement as it stood around 1963/4. The press describes this as akin to having a book of first hand interviews from the American or Russian Revolution, and that's not far from a stretch.
Who Speaks is a landmark that I can't believe it's taken me this long to read, especially given Warren's literary pedigree. If you're preparing to dive into this one, I highly recommend reading or audiobooking All the King's Men because it has very incisive moments that reveal how Warren things about the human condition.
The eminent historian August Meier wrote a tough review on this, saying it didn't reveal much to those who were in the know (and he was probably right), but if nothing else the last chapter is a real keeper. This is where Warren writes in his own voice. A southern voice. A voice that speaks of idealism, justice, and doing what is right. Not right in some abstract sense, but right in terms of self-interest. Pure pragmatism here, and that's the American way.
Lastly, FWIW, David Blight did a knock-up job on the intro, definatly got me in the mood to dive into this book. ...more
This is a very important book that documents the experiences of African American baseball players who followed Jackie Robinson's footsteps into the maThis is a very important book that documents the experiences of African American baseball players who followed Jackie Robinson's footsteps into the majors. Jacobson is a lifelong sports writer, and he brings a nice touch of insider knowledge into these chapter long mini-biographies. There's a lot in here about growing up under Jim Crow, but the most poignant sections were about how these guys played integrated ball in the minors and the troubles they faced in those small towns as they followed their dreams. ...more
An excellent book that could have easily been a basic "courtroom drama," but the author skillfully weaves the story of a landmark Supreme Court case iAn excellent book that could have easily been a basic "courtroom drama," but the author skillfully weaves the story of a landmark Supreme Court case into a broader context of the Great Migration and the post-war germination of the Civil Rights Movement.
In the vein of The Courage of Their Convictions, Unjust Deeds is legal history with a profoundly personal touch. By focusing on the lives of African American homeowners and local activist-lawyers, the author subtly reminds us that people are the ones who make history happen.
Chapters one and two are the outgrowth of an award winning article from the Journal of Supreme Court History, the author received an award from the late Justice Scalia for his efforts. To me, these are the best developed sections - but I'm primarily interested in African American history. The other chapters delve into federal politics and case law, so my reading bogged down there but others with different interests might find these sections exciting.
I would have liked to see more balance on the pro-covenant side. There are sections on white homeowners and lawyers, but those parts are comparatively brief. An epilogue that looked at the communities in question post-Shelley would have been revealing. Did those neighborhoods change following the ruling, and if so, in what ways? Maybe this stuff is beyond the book's purview and it's just a rumination for future research that another writer will pick up. ...more
Unlike the author's usual output of densely researched archival history, this is a collection of analytical opinion essays organized around the theme Unlike the author's usual output of densely researched archival history, this is a collection of analytical opinion essays organized around the theme that the way we understand and formulate racial unrest is stuck in the past. Lang argues that unshackling ourselves from "neoliberalism" (read: right-leaning libertarian) is necessary to confront enduring poverty, racial violence, militarized policing, and the prison industry.
This book is especially sensitive to issues of race and class, the writing is clear but still advanced. I like to think of it as a professorial compliment to Between the World and Me and an academically grounded version of Notes of a Native Son. In each of these books, essays about current events are interpreted through personal experiences of growing up Black in America.
Lang is at his most incisive in Chapter 2, where he interprets the significance of having Obama in the White House while the nation cycled through so many civil rights-era anniversaries. His mood is tempered by enduring inequality and a litany of retrogressive legal assaults against the very principles that the movement stood for. This standout essay makes for good assigned reading in college or graduate-level classes on the Civil Rights Movement....more
An indispensable and affordable tome that should be on any "woke" bookshelf. The list of contributors is a veritable who's who of Black writers from tAn indispensable and affordable tome that should be on any "woke" bookshelf. The list of contributors is a veritable who's who of Black writers from the era, and the editors smartly organized everything into well-designed sections. The section on poetry is my favorite (duh), but there's really great stuff in here on literary criticism, political position statements, and drama as well. ...more
A 5* historical job and 3* writing, even it out to the score above. If there's any single individual who represents the civil rights movement in SC, iA 5* historical job and 3* writing, even it out to the score above. If there's any single individual who represents the civil rights movement in SC, it's Septima Clark - and this book is the the definitive work about her. Regardless of where one thinks Clark fits within the ever-growing pantheon of civil rights activists, it's nice to see her life getting the attention that it deserves.
Much like Pauli Murray, Septima Poinsette Clark wrote two autobiographies - both of which are heavily drawn on for this book. Charron expands on this by adding lots of periphery stuff about cultural ethos on Black Charleston, the Progressive era, liberal politics in the Jim Crow era, Black education under segregation, and African American women's political action.
Academics, history zealots, and South Carolinians will be impressed by the sheer amount of detail in this book, but it doesn't seem like the kind of thing an average reader would ever pick up or appreciate. This isn't the author's fault (although there sometimes is so much that's not about Clark that it might frustrate some), it's because Clark's style of activism was very effective but not very interesting. She's not the get bit by dogs and spend the night in jail type, but those are the dramatic folks who usually get noticed - so read this and understand that there are many ways of making a difference and they don't all involve going to jail.
I'm so glad that this book came in time for me to read just days before a week-long seminar about women in the Civil Rights Movement. I've been lookinI'm so glad that this book came in time for me to read just days before a week-long seminar about women in the Civil Rights Movement. I've been looking forward to this since seeing the author do a talk at a conference and reading her chapter in Groundwork: Local Black Freedom Struggles in America several years ago.
The author discloses the fact that she is the product of an activist family and her favorable assessment of the people she writes about borders on hagiography. That said, this is an engaging story about the kind of women we don't usually imagine about when thinking about the Civil Rights Movement in the dungeon that was Mississippi. Fannie Lou Hamer, the poverty witnessed by Robert Kennedy in "Eyes on the Prize," and the closed society that made Stokely Carmichael's call for "Black Power" be so well received dominate the state's image. Morris enriches the story by telling about how solidly respectable middle aged and middle class women advanced the cause through community building, embracing quality of life issues, and making a difference in the lives of whoever would let them. These aren't peasants in overalls, radical SNCC organizers, or theoretically sophisticated proto Ella Bakers - they are regular people who care about their community.
This is a really well-done anthology of 11 historians (10 essays, one jointly written) giving their views on Randolph's life and legacy.
I've read dozThis is a really well-done anthology of 11 historians (10 essays, one jointly written) giving their views on Randolph's life and legacy.
I've read dozens (hundreds?) of articles and books about Randolph and the various organizations/causes he was associated with, and I gotta say that Reframing Randolph is my favorite on the subject for years. I have my bias in that the writers offer fresh insights about someone who, for me, is well known - hard for me to say what "the" book on him is to recommend for the general reader. If I had to write a prescription, I'd say any of the biographies, this book, and the edited volume of Randolph's works, For Jobs and Freedom: Selected Speeches and Writings of A. Philip Randolph. Reading those three together gives a full-length bio, a bunch of neat perspectives on his life & work, and a book of his own words.
Taylor's article on Randolph's religion really shines, I think the shorter format allows her writing to be a lot more punchy than her monograph on the subject. Gellman's piece is really good too, in that it riffs on stuff that wasn't totally in his book about the National Negro Congress so it's a pretty original piece. If you don't have time to read A. Philip Randolph and the Struggle for Civil Rights, check out Arnesen's chapter because it's an interesting portrait of Randolph's ideological development during his early Harlem years.
Hopefully this comes out in pbk. someday so it's available for a broader audience.
It's tough for me to pick a favorite from an anthology that is this stacked, kind of like singling out the best five Yankees of all time. ...more
A good enough book about how gun culture and the self-defense tradition applies to the freedom struggle. Given Cobb's experience in SNCC and his reputA good enough book about how gun culture and the self-defense tradition applies to the freedom struggle. Given Cobb's experience in SNCC and his reputation for being one of the smartest guys in the room, I was hoping that "This Nonviolent Stuff" would be a definitive piece that added to the fascinating research by Lance Hill The Deacons for Defense: Armed Resistance and the Civil Rights Movement of the many writings by and about like Robert F. Williams: Self Respect, Self Defense & Self Determination and Negroes with Guns and Radio Free Dixie: Robert F. Williams and the Roots of Black Power. I'd recommend either of these first if you're just starting to think about the the interplay of violence/nonviolence in the civil rights era.
Instead of the capstone book on guns in the southern-based Movement, this is more of a survey text that goes all the way back to Reconstruction - in fact, you'll be a few chapters in before anything in the 19502 or 1960s really gets discussed.
Cobb's point: African Americans are not, and were not, pushovers who were cowering under white supremacy. They defended their homes and their honor, but this did not extend into retaliatory violence like house bombings. Occasional wild men could get away with flagrant breeches of racial etiquette, but sadly, many others did not.
I also have to say, I really hope Cobb writes a memoir someday. He's got a unique voice and experienced some powerful stuff. ...more
This is a very well written and researched book. Main point: Mississippi deservedly gets a bad reputation for racism, but the North had a long way to This is a very well written and researched book. Main point: Mississippi deservedly gets a bad reputation for racism, but the North had a long way to go, too. I learned a lot about Chisholm and Brooke, two iconic politicians who I heard about all the time but didn't really know anything about.
I especially liked the chapter on the "Springfield Plan" because I found mention of it in the archives years ago and wanted to pursue it but never had the time - so thanks to the author for telling a much needed story about a time when education served the cause of pluralism.
The chapter on Brooklyn during the era that Jackie Robinson broke MLB's color barrier is excellent - it weaves together a lot of other research into a readable narrative of state law, city politics, cultural identity, and of course, baseball.
An exceptionally well-written book about an overlooked civil rights organizer. I'm not sure this supplants Carmichael's autobiography as the "one" booAn exceptionally well-written book about an overlooked civil rights organizer. I'm not sure this supplants Carmichael's autobiography as the "one" book about him, but it's a lot less intimidating to read because it's half the size. Joseph balances Carmichael's own words with an analytical pen and accounts of broader events in U.S. History from the sixties.
It's weird how the last 30 years of Carmichael's life only occupies a single chapter. His marriage to Makeba just sort of fades away, he briefly hangs out with Idi Amin (wtf?), and he has a random son with someone who is hardly mentioned. I'm most interested in what Stokely did in the U.S. before becoming an ideological zealot, but there's a lot of research to be done on his life from about ages 28-52 that needs to get done. That said, this was an impressive guy, and the fact that by his mid-20s his life fills most of a book testifies to that. ...more
A comprehensively researched and analytically savvy book about a vital and under-studied subject: grassroots mobilization in opposition to the "Black/A comprehensively researched and analytically savvy book about a vital and under-studied subject: grassroots mobilization in opposition to the "Black/Jew/Communist" civil rights movement. Scholars have built an impressive corpus of literature about grassroots civil rights activism, but organized white supremacy from the era has been overlooked. Jason Sokol's "There Goes My Everything" covers the entirety of the South, but Cunningham's case-study of North Carolina's various Klan iterations is a very important step in fleshing out the details of how ordinary people fought against the struggle for Black equality. As a professional historian I really liked this book, but I could see how lay readers would get frustrated with the level of details that Cunningham provides. If you're not going to read this one, plug the author's name into NPR's webpage for a really informative interview. ...more
A quick and enlightening read about how the Redskins integrated. Lost in recent discussions of the team's obviously racist name is the fact that this A quick and enlightening read about how the Redskins integrated. Lost in recent discussions of the team's obviously racist name is the fact that this was the last major pro sports franchise to integrate - and the team only did so under intense pressure from the Kennedy Administration that included threatening to pull the team's lease on the federally-operated stadium on the grounds of violating fair employment law. Smith does a good job telling the story of this local drama within the context of larger events like the Civil Rights Movement and the Cold War. ...more
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