Description: Moving past the old debate about whether there was a conscious conspiracy against black officials, Musgrove explores how the perception of harassment shaped black political thought in the post-civil rights era. He examines black elected officials' allegations of state and news media repression between 1965 and 1995.
Brief description: GEORGE DEREK MUSGROVE is an associate professor of history at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He is the author of Rumor, Repression, and Racial Politics: How the Harassment of Black Elected Officials Shaped Post-Civil Rights America (Georgia) and coauthor, with Chris Myers Asch, of Chocolate City: A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation's Capital.
Review Quotes:
A real gem. Rumor, Repression, and Racial Politics provides fresh insight into African American political thought and behavior, illuminates the role of rumor and conspiracy theory in post-1960s racial politics, and makes clear African Americans' changing relationship with the state. Written in accessible prose, it is perfect for use in the classroom, and should also find an audience among general readers with an interest in black politics.
--Hasan Kwame Jeffries "author of Bloody Lowndes: Civil Rights and Black Power in Alabama's Black Belt"