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From the ongoing issues of poverty, health, housing, and employment to the recent upsurge of lethal police-community relations, the black working class stands at the center of perceptions of social and racial conflict today. Journalists and public policy analysts often discuss the black poor as "consumers" rather than "producers," as "takers" rather than "givers," and as "liabilities" instead of "assets."
In his engrossing history, Workers on Arrival, Joe William Trotter, Jr., refutes these perceptions by charting the black working class's vast contributions to the making of America. Covering the last four hundred years since Africans were first brought to Virginia in 1619, Trotter traces the complicated journey of black workers from the transatlantic slave trade to the demise of the industrial order in the twenty-first century. At the center of this compelling, fast-paced narrative are the actual experiences of these African American men and women. A dynamic and vital history of remarkable contributions despite repeated setbacks, Workers on Arrival expands our understanding of America's economic and industrial growth, its cities, ideas, and institutions, and the real challenges confronting black urban communities today.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
January 8, 2019 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780520971172
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780520971172
- File size: 6126 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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February 1, 2019
Trotter (Giant Eagle Professor of History and Social Justice, Carnegie Mellon Univ.;$SPACE$Black Milwaukee) skillfully synthesizes the history of black labor in the United States from colonial times to the present. He argues that rather than being victims of the actions of others, black workers demonstrated remarkable ability to be agents of their own labor, frequently against strong resistance. Beginning with the origins of the black working class during the years of slavery, Trotter finds considerable independence of action, showing how slave and free laborers pushed legal and social boundaries. The role of women workers assumes a major place as the author moves into the industrial age. In examining the migration of workers to cities in the South and North, Trotter challenges the stereotype of blacks as strikebreaking tools of capitalists. He incorporates more discussion of workers' political and civil rights as he covers the 20th century. The changing nature of work in the late 20th century and its impact on black workers receives less attention than their political success during the same years. VERDICT Trotter includes an impressive bibliographic essay in this useful survey of an important topic that will be particularly useful for readers with interests in labor and race relations.--Charles K. Piehl, Minnesota State Univ., Mankato
Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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