Crossroads at Clarksdale: The Black Freedom Struggle in the Mississippi Delta after World War II
Weaving national narratives from stories of the daily
lives and familiar places of local residents, Françoise Hamlin
chronicles the slow struggle for black freedom through the history of
Clarksdale, Mississippi. Hamlin paints a full picture of the
town over fifty years, recognizing the accomplishments of its diverse
African American community and strong NAACP branch, and examining the
extreme brutality of entrenched power there. The Clarksdale story defies
triumphant narratives of dramatic change, and presents instead a
layered, contentious, untidy, and often disappointingly unresolved civil
rights movement.
Following the black freedom struggle in
Clarksdale from World War II through the first decade of the
twenty-first century allows Hamlin to tell multiple, interwoven stories
about the town's people, their choices, and the extent of political
change. She shows how members of civil rights organizations--especially
local leaders Vera Pigee and Aaron Henry--worked to challenge Jim Crow
through fights against inequality, police brutality, segregation, and,
later, economic injustice. With Clarksdale still at a crossroads today,
Hamlin explores how to evaluate success when poverty and inequality
persist.
About the Author
Reviews
"Exhaustively researched, this book richly details the black
struggle for freedom in the Mississippi Delta. . . . Recommended. All
academic levels/libraries."
--Choice
"An impressive, well-written account of the black freedom
struggle in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Françoise Hamlin's oral history
interviews are terrific, her analysis is thorough, and the story she
tells is dramatic."
--John Dittmer, author of Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi
--John Dittmer, author of Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi
"A sweeping, moving, and pathbreaking history of a half
century of civil rights activism in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Françoise
Hamlin gracefully runs an integrated gender, class, generational, and
race analysis throughout the book to permanently shift and transform our
understanding of the black freedom struggle. Crossroads at Clarksdale jumps off the page."
--Annelise Orleck, Dartmouth College
--Annelise Orleck, Dartmouth College
"Truly valuable work. This book is as important a
contribution to understanding Mississippi’s freedom struggle and to
bringing attention to many aspects of the movement as any I know."
--Charles E. Cobb Jr., originator of the Freedom Schools as a SNCC field secretary, founding member of the National Association of Black Journalists and author of On the Road to Freedom: A Guided Tour of the Civil Rights Trail
--Charles E. Cobb Jr., originator of the Freedom Schools as a SNCC field secretary, founding member of the National Association of Black Journalists and author of On the Road to Freedom: A Guided Tour of the Civil Rights Trail
Join us for the 2013 Lillian Smith Book Awards Ceremony
During the Decatur Book Festival
September 1, 2013
September 1, 2013
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