History of six major social reform movements in the United States from the early 19th to mid 20th centuries – abolitionism, populism, progressivism, the so-called “first wave” of the women’s movement, the labour movement, and the socialist and communist movements. The focus is how the white-dominated core of each related to racism, and how Black people engaged with, participated in, and challenged them (or didn’t). And the final chapter provides a US-centric but globally attentive analysis of the shifts in racism and capitalism over time as a way to put these movements in context. Written almost 50 years ago by a radical Black scholar whom I had not previously heard of but who seems to have revolutionary left politics. The writing is clear and engaging and a pleasure to read, though with no literary pretensions and a pretty standard scholarly character.
I read this for a very specific purpose: I’ve occasionally encountered the idea that upsurges in the Black freedom struggle in the US have historically created space for and catalyzed momentum in a range of other kinds of movements, certainly in the case of the New Left but in earlier movements too. But I don’t really know where that idea comes from, and I want to be able to cite it in something I’m writing. This, alas, does not seem to be where that idea comes from. The closest this book comes to that is arguing that Black activists and organizers have consistently challenged and thereby shaped white-dominated movements in the US (with varying degrees of success), which is a related but different point, albeit also related to something I want to say in what I’m working on.
Anyway, this is interesting history that, as someone not from/in the US, I only knew bits and pieces of, so I was happy to read it. (If you do happen to know of a good source that makes the argument I was originally looking for, though, do please leave a comment or send a message and let me know!)
Originally posted by Scott on Goodreads.