Races Books

When your typical blues fan thinks of cities that were important to the development of this great art form, he usually thinks of Chicago and maybe Memphis. However, Alan Govenar and Jay Brakefield make the case for Dallas, Texas as a major center for the developement of the blues in no uncertain terms. Of course, Deep Ellum and Central Track is not a blues book per se, but rather a well researched historical and sociological treatise on the birth and development of Big D's Deep Ellum and Central Track districts from the earliest days to the present. The authors use lots of primary source interviews with the surviving denizens of this fascinating area of town and paint a truly engaging picture of the lifestyles and business practices of these predominantly black and Jewish areas, particularly around the 1920's heyday of the earliest great blues artists. Such immortal founding fathers as Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Willie Johnson and "Oak Cliff" T-Bone Walker were crucial to the growth of the art form, and these and innumerable lesser artists are covered in meticulous and loving detail. The authors also spend plenty of time covering contributors to the local jazz and country music scenes as well, particularly jazz hornman Buster Smith, and country pickers the Light Crust Doughboys, where western swing icon Bob Wills got his start. Even though the work has a decidedly scholarly bent, the numerous stories of such colorful characters as gambling mogul Benny Binion and mammoth shoeshine entrepreneur "Open the Door Richard", provide enough reading pleasure to keep even casual fans enthralled. Researchers will love the nearly one hundred pages of source appendices, and fans of history, sociology, music, and Big D will all want to read this book as soon as possible, for it proves, among other things, that Dallas, Texas was and is a fascinating city, as well as a major contributor to the history of the blues art form.

This is a well researched and well written description of a time and place in Dallas in the 20's and 30's that has long been overdue. The history of blues, jazz, gospel and country was written in Deep Ellum. It was a "good read", and I recommend it highly.

James Simeone's fine history describes events, issues, and key people involved in whether to call a constitutional convention in Illinois in 1824. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 prohibited slavery and the first Illinois Constitution (1818) did not alter the law. By 1824 the "white folks", as the poor upland southerners called themselves, wanted to make Illinois a slave state. The call for a convention was defeated by a vote of 6,640 to 4,972 on on August 2, 1824. The "big folks" saved Illinois for the Union.

The Missouri Compromise of 1820 allowed Missouri to become a slave state, and "white folks" believed they could compete economically with Missouri only by importing slaves into the fertile bottomlands in the southern part of Illinois. Professor Simeone argues that the "white folks" wanted slavery at least short term. They needed slaves "to ease the present labor shortage, to protect the commonalty, to enhance the status of the poor whites and, most essentially, to do the extremely difficult work of clearing the bottomlands to make agriculture possible."

The battle was bloody. 13 persons of a total population of 55,000 were killed during the period. "As conventionist battled non-conventionist, mobs, murders, and effigy burning became common occurrences and the sense of foreboding spread. Under these crisis conditions, the state's new politics struggled to get organized."

Simeone discusses many of the people involved in the battle and also discusses the role that religion and preachers played. Milk-and-cider Arminians (salvation by works) and Cumberland, Methodist and Presbyterian clergy were opposed to the Convention. Most whole-hog Calvinists (salvation by grace) and the largest religious group, the Regular Baptists, favored the Convention. Baptists hymns "signal(ed] God's special interest in the poor white folks."

Simeone's basic theme is that "an egalitarian social revolution motivated the reorganization of Illinois politics." Settlers came to Illinois for a better life and to escape the social strictures in the East. "White folks were concerned only with the rights and status of one class, race, and gender: poor white males."

After the defeat of the Convention, Simeone traces the development of the Democrat and the Whig parties brought about by "the clash of cultural styles and the redefinition of economic interests." He argues that in Illinois "the cultural division between Democrats and Whigs [was symbolized by the] dispute between the white folks and the big folks over the Convention."

The history of this battle is complex, with many players and themes, but Professor Simeone makes the story come alive, a harbinger of the Civil War and a much bigger stage.

Robert C. Ross 2008

It was during the 1820s that Illinois experienced one of the earliest and most important battles between the slavery and anti-slavery forces that unleashed riots, arson, and mob violence across the state -- and that would eventually culminate in the American Civil War. James Simeone's supports his contention that the contest over slavery in Illinois prefigured the course of national politics that would lead to four racking years of war with meticulous and scholarly research, revealing and documenting the complexity of the slave problem in fragile American republic. In attempting to bring slavery to a free state, white migrants from southern states hoped to create a "Bottomland Republic" of free and equal white yeoman farmers who could own slaves on the basis of popular sovereignty. Abolitionists allied themselves with the governing class of "aristocrats" against the upstart, pro-slavery migrants in a struggle that would alter the state's political culture and foreshadow the Democratic-Whig cleavage in antebellum politics. Democracy And Slavery In Frontier Illinois: The Bottomland Republic is an impressive and very welcome contribution to 19th century American history in general, and the neophyte struggles between pro- and anti-slavery forces on the Midwestern frontier in particular.

The 1898 "race riot," of Wilmington, NC, which more correctly should be understood for what it really was, "an ongoing white pogrom against blacks," or "a white supremacist insurrection against a legitimately elected interracial government," remains an enduring metaphor for how, "at every appropriate opportunity throughout American history," white Americans have, even today, found ways to betray democracy in the name of the dying ideology of white supremacy. America's imperceptibly slow evolution towards democracy has been nothing if not an uphill struggle against the reactionary forces of "white resistance" to "true democracy."

Never was the white intent to resist change towards democracy, social and political justice and equality, more raw, open and obvious, never more starkly and conscientiously used to snuff out democracy, nor more brutal, than in the 1898 Wilmington "white vigilante resurrection." And for those who might think that this was but an accident or aberration of American history, the attacks on the duly elected government of Wilmington were typical of the times. As always, they rallied the anti-democratic forces to action in the local churches. Even today, the white instigators of the 1898 riots are still very much revered: taught about in schools as heroes, with statutes of them standing tall in the town square.

Unlike today, when the U.S. has become little more than a "greater co-prosperity sphere" for the "moneyed (mostly) foreign interests of the global economy" such as the Saudi Royal family, Christian and Jewish Zionists, and now for Communist Chinese economic expansion, there was once a time, when "true democracy" was about to break out in America. Never was there a more pregnant time for it to do so than in 1898 Wilmington, North Carolina.

The Story

More than a century ago, in the aftermath of the "race riots" of 1871 in Cape Fear North Carolina, where the river ran red with the blood of its black victims, a historic experiment in interracial democracy blossomed in Wilmington, NC. Although Wilmington was composed of a thriving black majority, one of the few in all of the U.S. at that time (and now at any time), its government nevertheless was composed of a coalition of both races.

This coalition of "working level" blacks and whites, an unheard of democratic oasis in a desert of southern racist reaction, posed a threat not just to white supremacy, but also to the "Southern planter and Northern industrial class" that had traditionally run the Southern slave system that "pitted" white workers against "black slaves." [The global economy now carries out a similar program, writ large.]

In the 1898 elections, when these conservative forces failed to undo the interracial coalition at the ballot box, they sought to do so by "the gun." (giving a paradoxical twist and echo to Malcolm X's refrain: The Ballot or the Bullet). And out of the ashes of the ensuing coup d'etat was born a century of Jim Crow and Apartheid, American style.

And as Paul Harvey would say "the rest of the story" is that even today, when we have both a "Black man" and a "White woman" running for the U.S. Presidency, just beneath the veneer of racial tranquility, America remains more like "post riot Wilmington" than like the interracial coalition that the reactionary vigilante forces overthrew in 1898.

As the authors noted so carefully in the preface: " the past seems not to have receded significantly, even today. In some very fundamental ways, change [towards democracy] has come slowly, sometimes almost imperceptibly [so]."

An important book with many perceptive and cautionary lessons for our still racially tense and constipated times. A true five star effort.



An important book with many perceptive and cautionary lessons for our still racially tense and constipated times. A true five star effort.

First let me say that I rarely read non-fiction and even when I do, I rarely manage to finish an entire book of it. Democracy Betrayed is an exception. The writing was clear, precise, right-on, and interesting. And, perhaps most importantly, educational. I was born and raised in North Carolina and knew nothing--absolutely nothing--about the Wilmington Race Riots or the subject of Cecelski's essay Abraham Galloway. I am female and was a victim of gender based racial violence myself so I was aware of the issues raised in Gilmore's essay and White's essay, but I have never seen the issues written about so well. What I most like about this book is that it destroys stereotypes about class and race. After all isn't it the most well-to-do who most benefit from race violence so why should we be surprised to learn that it was not the so-called "white trash" who began the racial massacre in 1898, but the rich, the ones who were most likely to benefit from forcing the elected fusionist party officials out of office and placing themselves in their offices. I never knew--it certainly wasn't taught in my public school--that in 1896 every office in North Carolina was held by a progressive fusionist party member, elected by the fusion of lower class whites and blacks. Imagine how different this state would be, how advanced in talent and intelligence, if the massacre hadn't occurred, if black doctors, lawyers, real estate agents, newspaper editors and writers, etc, hadn't been forced from the state and if the elected officials had been allowed to remain in office. Perhaps what is most important is the book succeeds in "drawing public attention to the tragedy", a tragedy that is apparantly very much in the consciousness of Black Wilmington citizens and very much needs to be in the consciousness of all humans.

This book truly changed my life when I enrolled at the University of Virginia during the civil rights years of the 1960s. It was in many ways a roadmap for me during those contentious times. Nowadays whenever I see an old copy at a booksale, I buy it and pass it on. If only there had been hundreds, thousands, like it, the history of the south might have been so much better in the twentieth century. I remember hearing Sarah Patton Boyle speak on campus, and sitting next to her at a church service after President Kennedy was assassinated. I guess what I want to say is that so many books are paper and ink (and some of them tragic wastes of good trees)--and then there are the others. This is one of the others. I recommend it highly. In fact, I have recommended it to the Modern Library for their list of the hundred most important nonfiction books of the century.

Sarah Patton Boyle was a white person born into one of Virginia's "best families." During the 1950s and 60s Boyle became an activist for African American Civil Rights in Virginia. This book beautifully narrates Boyle's awakening to the plight of African Americans, and her response. An honest and forthright account, Boyle details the inner anxieties of a person moving from one world view to another. She chronicles her childhood and indoctrination with the repressive "Southern Code" that guided race relations in the South. According to Boyle, the Southern Code allowed whites to think of themselves as gracious and generous paternalists while economically exploiting African Americans. Not until the 1950s did she see how racist and dehumanizing the whole scheme was. When she did she became an activist in the Civil Rights movement. In the process she lost her belief not only in the goodness of white southerners, but in the goodness of humanity in general. She moved more towards an orthodox Christian worldview that stressed on the one hand the sinfulness of mankind and on the other the need for a strong commitment to love. This book definitely deserves to be considered a signigicant piece of Southern literature and a valuable resource for those interested in understanding the complex history of southern race relations. -Vernon Horn

This is one of the most balanced and well written works that I have ever had the priviledge of reading on this topic. The author does not promote the black race as having superiority over others but clearly shows an equality that is oftentimes sorely missing in society. This is one aspect that gives the book balance and objectivity. Earl Paulk's work, ONE BLOOD, is another important book on this issue. The extensive bibliography gives the reader other resources for further study/reading. A most delightful read! God Bless the Author!

This is one of the most balanced and well written works that I have ever had the priviledge of reading on this topic. The author does not promote the black race as having superiority over others but clearly shows an equality that is oftentimes sorely missing in society. This is one aspect that gives the book balance and objectivity. Earl Paulk's work, ONE BLOOD, is another important book on this issue. The extensive bibliography gives the reader other resources for further study/reading. A most delightful read! God Bless the Author!

Detroit Divided covers many issues well-known to residents of SE Michigan - issues such as racism, the labor market, housing, transportation, etc., always coming back to the question of what factors influence the segregation of the city and its suburbs.
It was published in 2000, and is still quite up-to date, but there is no mention of the influence of recent changes in Detroit's downtown, such as GM, sports stadiums, casinos, and current revitalization projects.
What I really liked about this book was the survey data from the census, and from surveys done by residents in the inner city and the suburbs. I liked finding out about what "We as Detroiters" had to say about these issues, and I found myself agreeing with a lot of the findings because I see them on a daily basis. It is nice to have numbers to back up what are vague mental pictures of what the situation involves.
I learned quite a bit about the area, things I didn't know about our history and about the present. Professionals in urban issues will certainly use this book, but I would also recommend it to the general public and especially to residents in Detroit and SE Mich.

Why does this metropolis continue to have the most racially divided composition of the United States? Well, if you find yourself with the same question I reccomend this book. It gives good insight into how metropolitan Detroit became the city it is today and insight into what those of your race and and the other are doing/thinking. If you are curious about the extended population other than the whites/blacks then don't buy this but my money was well spent.

Though this is not a new book, it should still be much sought out for it offers readers--scholars and the general public--the opportunity to discover how the Jews in the medieval era were cast the heinous role as servants of the Devil. This study details the Anti-Semitism of that age with chilling color. I highly recommend this title.

Trachtenberg's the Devil and the Jew has only recently returned to print after decades of being unavailable. The book is so good, that it was even hard to find in libraries because it was so often stolen. Now at last it is available to the modern reader without having to resort to theft or exauting searches.

In this work, the author traces the history of the christian association between the Jew and the Chritian devil from early church history, but with a particular focus on the middle ages. Many of the myths that many Jewish murders have been based on, right up to the 20th century, have their roots in this period and Tractenberg does a tremdous job exploring them. While many others have written about this topic, (Moss, Towards the Final Solution being a particularly fine example) none of the more recent works have in any way displaced Trachtenberg's careful study.

This is a must for the collection of anyone intersted in this topic or anything else related to European Jewish History. Buy it now before it again goes out of print.

This book saved my life in regard to succintly putting together all of the ideas why and how "difference does matter". I used this book as guidance through my look at communication, especially communication with other cultures, especially my own culture. Well written and can be read and understood by everyone.

Difference Matters is an excellent, accessible read. Inclusion of statistics, examples, and personal experience provided compelling evidence to support the social constructivist perspective of identity. I recommend this book for every American.

Starting with the Supreme Court's decision in _Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, KS_, Graglia shows that the emperor has no clothes. Claiming to be acting against racial discrimination, the Court first disallowed race-neutral policies, then actively enforced racial discrimination. The one hopeful element of Graglia's tale is that while people in Washington, DC proved supine in their unwillingness to oppose the Supreme Court's misdeeds, average people from Denver to Boston took to the streets in defense of self-government. The politics of the last 23 years owe much to the arrogations chronicled in Graglia's book.

Lino Graglia's career has been devoted to decrying usurpation by federal judges. Unlike most of the tenured cowards in academia, Graglia has used his insulation from politics in the way tenured professors are supposed to: as a license to point out uncomfortable truths. His honesty and opposition to the Left trends in legal "scholarship" cost him a prestigious appointment to a federal appeals court, but that didn't silence this model citizen. Too bad there aren't hundreds more like him. Bravo! Lino. This is a truly great book by one of the few remaining devotes of limited government and the rule of democratically-enacted law (not judges).

I read this for a book report. It really shows the inhumanity of humaninty!!!!

A brave and gutsy chronicle of an inter-racial family. Minerbrook draws vivid pictures of human beings struggling with cultural differences, gender issues, and parental failings as well as unyielding prejudice by both races. He never condemns, only describes grippingly. He not only survived; he achieved wholeness and stability despite stunning obstacles. I'll never look at a bi-racial person the same way again.