Civil Rights - African American History, Leadership & Statesmanship, African Americans - Business, Economics, & Finance, African Americans - Law, Politics, & Government
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Overview
The history of the black struggle for civil rights and political and economic equality in America is deeply tied to the strategies, agendas, and styles of black leaders. In this compelling work, Manning Marable examines different models of black leadership and the figures who embody them: from the integrationist approaches of Booker T. Washington and Harold Washington, to the nationlist separatism of Louis Farrakhan, and, finally, the democratic transformation championed by W. E. B. Du Bois. Marable's analysis of all three models criticizes the deep conservatism of both integrationists and national separatists, and praises Du Bois's radical democratic vision of linking racial equality with the struggle for political and economic liberty for all. This original account of black leadership in the United States reveals what is at stake in terms of politics, economics, and culture, both in the black community and in America at large.Editorials
Publishers Weekly -
Despite the title's promise, this collection of academic essays has a more limited goal, according to Columbia historian Marable (Race, Reform, and Rebellion): to "profile the ideas and leadership" of Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, Harold Washington and Louis Farrakhan. Actually, even that schematic seems strained, as Marable includes four essays about DuBois, and only one each about the other three. The essays on DuBois add up to an interesting prcis of his multifaceted influence on black culture, his radical religious faith, his spur to Pan-Africanism and his "critique linking racism, war, and peace." The title also could have indicated Marable's incisive leftist analysis: Booker T. Washington's accommodationist strategy sacrificed black workers, he writes, while Chicago mayor Washington's reliance on personal charisma meant no organization could succeed him. While Farrakhan's "black fundamentalist nationalism" invokes conservative economics and alliances with the likes of Lyndon LaRouche, Marable sees the empowerment of black workerswithin a reformed labor movementas the best source of progressive politics beyond the Democratic Party and civil rights community. (May)Booknews
Twelve essays profile the ideas and leadership of Booker T. Washington, Louis Farrakhan, Harold Washington, and W. E. B. Du Bois. Marable (history, Columbia U.) criticizes the integrationist approach of Harold Washington, the accommodation of Booker T. Washington, and the nationalist separatism of Farrakhan, while praising the radical democratic approach of Du Bois. He argues that Du Bois's linkage of class and race issues, and his emphasis on democracy from below are the proper means towards achieving a "full redefinition of America's democratic project." Other essays examine topics from the debates and compromises regarding race that were part of the adoption of the U.S. Constitution to the current search for new directions by African- Americans in organized labor. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.Michael Eric Dyson
One of the most exciting and important books on race and black leadership to appear in quite a while. Marable manages with these fine essays to uncover and examine both the thematic continuity and stylistic diversity of black social, moral, and intellectual leadership during the twentieth century. It deserves a wide audience. -- Michael Eric DysonBook Details
Published
March 17, 1998
Publisher
Columbia University Press
Pages
288
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9781616803971