From Rights to Economics

Rich with the voices of black and white southern workers,From Rights to Economicsshows how ardently African Americans have had to continue fighting for economic parity in the decades since the civil rights legislation of the 1960s. Using oral histories and case studies that focus on black activism throughout the entire South, award-winning historian Timothy Minchin examines the work of grassroots groups--including the Southern Regional Council and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund--who struggled with the economic dimensions of the movement. While white workers and managers resisted integration, activists' efforts gradually secured a wider range of job opportunities for blacks. Minchin shows, however, that the decline of manufacturing industry in the South has been especially difficult for the African American community, wiping out many good jobs just as blacks were gaining access to them. Minchin also offers a detailed discussion of a major school integration battle in Louisville, Kentucky, and examines the role of affirmative action in the ongoing black struggle.

Timothy J. Minchin is associate professor of history at LaTrobe University in Melbourne, Australia.