Crossroads at Clarksdale : the Black freedom struggle in the Mississippi Delta after World War II / Françoise N. Hamlin.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 317-345) and index.

Introduction: the black freedom struggle at the crossroads -- Washington was far away: defining a different post-war delta -- M is for Mississippi and murder ... and mother -- I think freedom and talk freedom: demanding desegregation, 1960-1963 -- Fires of frustration: summers of 1963 to 1965 -- Children should not be subjected to what is going on there: desegregating schools -- It was a peaceful revolution: Johnson's great society and economic justice in Coahoma County -- Epilogue: I have not ended the story for there is no end: continuing histories of Clarksdale's black freedom struggle -- Appendix: black and white freedom summer volunteers in Clarksdale.

"Weaving national narratives from stories of the daily lives and familiar places of local residents, Francoise Hamlin chronicles the slow struggle for black freedom through the history of Clarksdale, Mississippi. Hamlin paints a full picture of the town over fifty years, recognizing the accomplishments of its diverse African American community and strong NAACP branch, and examining the extreme brutality of entrenched power there. The Clarksdale story defies triumphant narratives of dramatic change, and presents instead a layered, contentious, untidy, and often disappointingly unresolved civil rights movement. Following the black freedom struggle in Clarksdale from World War II through the first decade of the twenty-first century allows Hamlin to tell multiple, interwoven stories about the town's people, their choices, and the extent of political change. She shows how members of civil rights organizations--especially local leaders Vera Pigee and Aaron Henry--worked to challenge Jim Crow through fights against inequality, police brutality, segregation, and, later, economic injustice. With Clarksdale still at a crossroads today, Hamlin explores how to evaluate success when poverty and inequality persist"--Provided by publisher.

Online resource (HeinOnline, viewed July 6, 2021).

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