Paperback

African Americans in the Jazz Age

A Decade of Struggle and Promise

Mark R. Schneider - Series edited by Jacqueline M. Moore and Nina Mjagkij

The victorious end to the first World War offered hope to African Americans who had fought for freedom abroad and hoped to find it at home. In this new work, historian Mark R. Schneider analyzes the dynamic 1920s that saw the enormous migration of African Americans to Northern urban centers and the formation of important African American religious, social and economic institutions. Yet, even with considerable efforts to promote civil rights and advancements in the arts, many African Americans in the rural south continued to live under conditions unchanged from a century before. African Americans in the Jazz Age recounts the history of this turbulent era, paying particular attention to the ways in which African Americans actively challenged Jim Crow and firmly expressed pride in their heritage. Supplemented by primary sources, this work serves as an ideal introduction to this critical period in U.S. history and allows students to examine the issues first-hand and draw their own conclusions.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 176 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-0-7425-4417-8 • Paperback • August 2006 • $40.00 • (£30.00)

Series: The African American Experience Series

Subjects: History / United States / 20th Century

Courses: History; U.S.; African-American

African Americans in the Jazz Age

A Decade of Struggle and Promise

Paperback

Summary

The victorious end to the first World War offered hope to African Americans who had fought for freedom abroad and hoped to find it at home. In this new work, historian Mark R. Schneider analyzes the dynamic 1920s that saw the enormous migration of African Americans to Northern urban centers and the formation of important African American religious, social and economic institutions. Yet, even with considerable efforts to promote civil rights and advancements in the arts, many African Americans in the rural south continued to live under conditions unchanged from a century before. African Americans in the Jazz Age recounts the history of this turbulent era, paying particular attention to the ways in which African Americans actively challenged Jim Crow and firmly expressed pride in their heritage. Supplemented by primary sources, this work serves as an ideal introduction to this critical period in U.S. history and allows students to examine the issues first-hand and draw their own conclusions.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 176 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-0-7425-4417-8 • Paperback • August 2006 • $40.00 • (£30.00)

Series: The African American Experience Series

Subjects: History / United States / 20th Century

Courses: History; U.S.; African-American

Author

Mark R. Schneider is the author of We Return Fighting: The Civil Rights Movement in the Jazz Age and Boston Confronts Jim Crow: 1890–1920. He received his Ph.D. from Boston College.

Table of Contents

Introduction: What the War Wrought
Chapter 1: Black Hopes, White Fears, Red Summer
Chapter 2: Migrants North
Chapter 3: Changing Institutions in Changing Times
Chapter 4: Civil Rights
Chapter 5: Expressions of Pride
Epilogue
Documents
Bibliographic Essay

Reviews

African Americans in the Jazz Age is a compelling portrait of the complexities of African-American life and the fight for equal rights during the decade of the 1920s. The first complete synthesis of one of the most critical eras in African-American history, Schneider's work demonstrates that the era known for the Harlem Renaissance was an exciting time of activism and creativity that extended throughout black communities across America. This is a readable and engaging account with primary documents that are intensely moving and will provoke thoughtful classroom discussion.
— Jill Watts, California State University, San Marcos

African Americans in the Jazz Age provides a concise and insightful overview of the African American experience from the end of the First World War to the onset of the Great Depression. The short narrative provides a clear examination of social, political and cultural developments from the Red Summer of 1919 through the Harlem Renaissance that is remarkably rich in detail. The accompanying documents effectively illuminate the themes introduced in the narrative.
— Cary D. Wintz, Texas Southern University

African Americans in the Jazz Age is an original and significant contribution to African American history. By exploring the emergence of the New Negro and the quest of blacks to build institutions, battle against virulent racism, and intensify the struggle for Civil Rights, Schneider has produced an impressive and extremely valuable book that helps to explain the progress of later generations. It is must reading for anyone with an interest in African American and urban history.
— Henry Louis Taylor, University at Buffalo