Hands that Built a Nation: The Legacy of Black Labor in AmericaLike this list

29 items

• My Black Country

  Chasing the Hidden Roots and Flowers of Black Country Music Genius

  Randall, Alice, 1959-

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  Alice Randall uncovers the overlooked history of Black artists in country music, tracing their deep influence on the genre. Blending personal storytelling with music history, she shines a light on the contributions and resilience of Black country…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• African Founders

  How Enslaved People Expanded American Ideals

  Fischer, David Hackett, 1935-

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  This deeply researched history reveals how enslaved Africans and their descendants helped shape American democracy, culture, and ideals. Their contributions, often erased from traditional narratives, played a crucial role in building the nation’s…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Slavery After Slavery

  Revealing the Legacy of Forced Child Apprenticeships on Black Families, From Emancipation to the Present

  Berry, Mary Frances,

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  An acclaimed historian narrates the stories of newly emancipated children who were re-enslaved by white masters through apprenticeships and their parents fights to free them. While the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery, white southerners…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Swans of Harlem

  Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History

  Valby, Karen,

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  This inspiring true story follows five trailblazing Black ballerinas who broke barriers in the dance world. Their journey of resilience, sisterhood, and reclaiming their place in history highlights the power of perseverance and representation in the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Franchise

  the Golden Arches in Black America

  Chatelain, Marcia, 1979-

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  Explore the untold history of how the boom and saturation of fast food franchises contributed to the growth of Black wealth in the US during the Civil Rights Era and beyond.

• The Pullman Porters and West Oakland

  Tramble, Thomas

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  After years of struggling in labor battles and negotiations, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters Union became the first African American-led union to sign a contract with a large American company. Revisit the strong history of the Pullman…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Warmth of Other Suns

  the Epic Story of America's Great Migration

  Wilkerson, Isabel

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  In her account of the Great Migration Wilkerson dives deep into the numerous reasons for a mass movement of African Americans from the South to across the US, including the need for better employment opportunities and in turn shows how racial…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Remembering Port Chicago

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  In California's Bay Area, a painful memory lingers of the Port Chicago disaster of WWII, when hundreds of the Navy's first black sailors perished.

• Struggles in Steel

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  Struggles in Steel documents the shameful history of discrimination against black workers and one heroic campaign where they won equality on the job.

• No Right to An Honest Living

  the Struggles of Boston's Black Workers in the Civil War Era

  Jones, Jacqueline, 1948-

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  Jacqueline Jones presents inspiring and heart-wrenching stories of people-from day laborers and domestics to physicians and lawyers-who ingeniously forged careers in the face of monumental obstacles

• Workers on Arrival

  Black Labor in the Making of America

  Trotter, Joe William, Jr., 1945-

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  A dynamic and vital history of remarkable contributions despite repeated setbacks, this read expands our understanding of America's economic and industrial growth, its cities, ideas, and institutions, and the real challenges confronting black urban…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Raise a Fist, Take a Knee

  Race and the Illusion of Progress in Modern Sports

  Feinstein, John,

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  Draws on interviews with coaches, athletes, and others in the sports world to discuss how racial politics impacts every aspect of professional sports, from the lack of diversity among management to the treatment of minority players by their white…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Black Box

  Writing the Race

  Gates, Henry Louis, Jr,

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  "This gem brilliantly reflects multiple depictions of what it means to be a Black American amid complex, structured interracial and color-based discrimination discourses, in which writing and language are keys." - Library Journal

• Built From the Fire

  the Epic Story of Tulsa's Greenwood District, America's Black Wall Street : One Hundred Years in the Neighborhood That Refused to Be Erased

  Luckerson, Victor,

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  Told from the vantage point of the Goodwin family, discover how the many generations of Greenwood residents fought back against attempts to destroy their thriving Black neighborhood and created a lasting legacy of Black excellence.

• Journal of a Black Queer Nurse

  Daniels, Britney,

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  Hilarious, gut-wrenching, and infuriating by turns, these stories are told from the perspective of a deeply empathetic, no-nonsense young nurse, who highlights the way race, inequality, and a profit-driven healthcare system make the hospital a place…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A Little Devil in America

  Notes in Praise of Black Performance

  Abdurraqib, Hanif, 1983-

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  Knowing there was something more complicated and deep-seated in the history and legacy of minstrelsy, Abdurraqib uncovered questions and tensions that help to reveal how black performance pervades all areas of American society.

• The Women Who Caught the Babies

  a Story of African American Midwives

  Greenfield, Eloise,

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  Through historical information, poems, illustrations, and photographs, the author shows the ways in which African American midwives have helped families over the course of hundreds of years.

• Rooted

  the American Legacy of Land Theft and the Modern Movement for Black Land Ownership

  Baker, Brea,

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  An acclaimed writer and activist traces the experiences of her family history of devastating land loss in Kentucky and North Carolina, identifying such violence as the root of persistent inequality in this country to unpack the historic attacks on…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Black Folk

  the Roots of the Black Working Class

  Kelley, Blair Murphy, 1973-

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  An award-winning historian illuminates the adversities and joys of the Black working class in America through a stunning narrative centered on her forebears.

• Rest Is Resistance

  a Manifesto

  Hersey, Tricia,

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  In this book, Tricia Hersey, aka The Nap Bishop, encourages us to connect to the liberating power of rest, daydreaming, and naps as a foundation for healing and justice.