Description: The Ohio River once symbolized the passage of blacks from slavery to freedom along the underground railroad. Hence, they frequently referred to it as the "River Jordan". Yet in the urban centers along the river's shores, blacks faced racial hostility. Here Joe Trotter examines African American life in the Ohio Valley cities Evansville, Louisville, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh, from the arrival of the first blacks to the Civil Rights movement. 21 photos. 5 maps.
Brief description: Joe William Trotter Jr. is Giant Eagle Professor of History and Social Justice and director of the Center for Africanamerican Urban Studies and the Economy (CAUSE) at Carnegie Mellon University. He is the author or coauthor of numerous publications, including Race and Renaissance: African Americans in Pittsburgh since World War II, Black Milwaukee: The Making of an Industrial Proletariat, 1915-1945, and Workers on Arrival: Black Labor in the Making of America.
Review Quotes:
By illuminating the connections among racism, deindustrialization, and the continuing transformation of rural southern blacks into new urban workers, Trotter contributes significantly to our understanding of the contemporary urban crisis.
-- "Henry L. Taylor, SUNY Buffalo"