New Black Studies: Black Public History in Chicago (ePub)

In civil-rights-era Chicago, a dedicated group of black activists, educators, and organizations employed black public history as more than cultural activism. Their work and vision energized a black public history movement that promoted political progress in the crucial time between World War II and the onset of the Cold War. Ian Rocksborough-Smith's meticulous research and adept storytelling provide the first in-depth look at how these committed individuals leveraged Chicago's black public history. Their goal: to engage with the struggle for racial equality. Rocksborough-Smith shows teachers working to advance curriculum reform in public schools, while well-known activists Margaret and Charles Burroughs pushed for greater recognition of black history by founding the DuSable Museum of African American History. Organizations like the Afro-American Heritage Association, meanwhile, used black public history work to connect radical politics and nationalism. Together, these people and their projects advanced important ideas about race, citizenship, education, and intellectual labor that paralleled the shifting terrain of mid-twentieth century civil rights.|
Cover
Title
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
List of Illustrations
Editorial Note
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
1. Curriculum Reforms in World War II Chicago
2. Imagining a Black Museum in Cold War Chicago
3. Black-History Activism and the Afro-American Heritage Association
4. Cultural Fronts and Public-History Activism in the Black Power Era
5. The Washington Park Relocation
Epilogue
Notes
Bibliography
Index|Ian Rocksborough-Smith teaches at the University of the Fraser Valley.