Black San Francisco : the struggle for racial equality in the West, 1900-1954 / Albert S. Broussard.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Broussard, Albert S., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

African Americans--California--San Francisco--History--20th century.

African Americans.

San Francisco (Calif.)--Race relations.

San Francisco (Calif.).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 323 pages)

Other Title:

Black San Francisco

Place of Publication:

Lawrence, Kansas : University Press of Kansas, 2022.

Summary:

When it came to racial equality in the early twentieth century, Albert S. Broussard argues, the liberal, progressive image of San Francisco was largely a facade. In this book, he challenges the rhetoric of progress and opportunity with evidence of the reality of inequality and shows how black San Franciscans struggled for equality in the same manner as their counterparts in the Midwest and East. Understanding the texture of the racial caste system in the city prior to 1954, he contends, is critical to understanding why blacks made so little progress in employment, housing, and politics despite the absence of segregation laws. Reconstructing the plight of San Francisco's black citizens, Broussard reveals a population that, despite its small size before 1940, did not accept second-class citizenship passively yet remained nonviolent into the 1960s. He also shows how World War II and the defense industry brought thousands of southern black migrants to the bay area. Ultimately, he demonstrates, these newcomers and native black residents formed coalitions with white liberals to attack racial inequality more vigorously and successfully than at any previous time in San Francisco's history.

Contents:

The growth and development of San Francisco's Black community, 1900-1930

Employment and enterprise, 1900-1930

Class, status, and social life

Protest organizations, 1915-1930

Politics, protest, and race relations, 1920-1940

The worst of times: Blacks during the Great Depression and the New Deal, 1930-1940

The growth of Black San Francisco, 1940-1945

World War II, fair employment, discrimination, and Black opportunity

Wartime tensions and the struggle for housing

World War II and the new Black leadership

The growth and flowering of interracial organizations

Postwar employment: gains and losses

The maturation of Black San Francisco: housing, autonomy, and politics.

Notes:

Based on the thesis at Duke University.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Publisher Number:

heb40143 hdl