Class, Race, and the Civil Rights Movement: The Changing Political Economy of Southern Racism

An intriguing look at the interplay of race and class, this work is both scholarly and jargon-free. A sophisticated study." ―Library Journal

This is an exciting book... combining... dramatic episodes with an insightful analysis... The use of concepts of class is subtle and effective." ―Peter N. Stearns

... ambitious and wide-ranging... " ―Georgia Historical Quarterly

... excellent historical analysis... " ―North Carolina Historical Review

Historians should welcome this book. A well-written, jargon-free, interpretive synthesis, it relates impersonal political-economic forces to the human actors who were shaped by them and, in turn, helped shape them.... This refreshing study reminds us how much the American dilemma of race has been complicated by problems of class." ―American Historical Review

... a broad historical sweep... skillfully surveys key areas of historiographical debate and succinctly summarizes a good deal of recent secondary literature." ―Journal of Southern History

... Bloom does a masterful job of presenting the major structural and psychological interpretations associated with the Civil Rights Movement... It will make an excellent general text to welcome undergraduates and reintroduce old-timers to the social ferment that surrounded the Civil Rights Movement." ―Contemporary Sociology

A unique sociohistorical analysis of the civil rights movement, analyzing the interaction between the economy and political systems in the South, which led to racial stratification.

Bloom develops three major themes in this challenging work. First, he argues that black-belt Southern planters, not lower-class whites, were responsible for erecting the structure of Southern racism in the early 20th century. Next, he suggests the rise of a white urban business class in the South after World War II effectively challenged planter domination and ultimately provided the social space for the emergence of black protest. Finally, Bloom maintains that blacksboth middle- and lower-classcreated and energized the civil rights movement; at best, liberal whites played a minimal, supporting role. An intriguing look at the interplay of race and class, this work is both scholarly and jargon-free. A sophisticated study, recommended primarily for specialists in the field.Anthony O.Edmonds, History Dept., Ball State Univ., Muncie, Ind.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.