Sharing the prize : the economics of the civil rights revolution in the American South
Record details
- ISBN: 9780674049338 (alk. paper)
- ISBN: 0674049330 (alk. paper)
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Physical Description:
print
xii, 353 pages : illustrations, maps ; 22 cm - Publisher: Cambridge, Mass. : Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2013.
Content descriptions
Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 303-337) and index. |
Formatted Contents Note: | Rights, economics, and the American South -- The political economy of the Jim Crow South -- Southern business and public accommodations : an economic-historical paradox -- Desegregating southern labor markets -- The economics of southern school desegregation -- The economic consequences of voting rights -- The downside of the civil rights revolution -- Civil rights economics : historical context and lessons. |
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- 1 of 1 copy available at Camosun College Library.
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Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Circulation Modifier | Holdable? | Status | Due Date | Courses |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lansdowne Library | E 185.615 W69 2013 (Text) | 26040003010432 | Main Collection | Volume hold | Available | - |
- Book News : Book News Reviews
Gavin Wright (American economic history, Stanford U.) has written the story of the economics of the civil rights movement in the American South. Wright explains that the driving force behind the movement was southern poverty; it was not just about denial of services and accommodations but wages and jobs. The author documents that federal intervention (the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the recently rescinded Voting Rights Act of 1965) was followed both by enforced desegregation and a dramatic rise in the wages of southern black workers. Both changes created new markets for white businesses, and steeply reduced overall southern poverty rates. Forced integration for all allowed businesses to make changes that benefited them, without fearing they would lose white customers to segregated competitors if they welcomed black customers. The good news got little attention in the national media, where the cameras had already turned to riots in northern cities. Wright deals with negative consequences as well, particularly the loss of black businesses that gave black communities successful role models and a measure of independence. However, he notes recent statistics from southern cities show black-owned business rebounds quickly when included in technical assistance programs and given fair consideration in civic contracts; in a fair market, any business will benefit from access to more customers. The book also discusses gains in southern health and healthcare generated by the movement. Wright concludes that while measures of anti-black racism and poverty remain highest in the south, the civil rights movement has had lasting successes, and federal law was necessary to secure them. These changes have benefited southerners of all colors. The author suggests that since most southern states currently depend on prison economies and food sales tax bases which unduly burden both poor and black citizens, multiracial coalitions for economic justice in the south are as necessary now as in 1964. The book is written in a very accessible style. The economic data that supports Wright's ideas is illustrated by clear graphs and explained in language that puts the information into the larger context of the civil rights story. The book has an extensive scholarly bibliography. Belknap Press is an imprint of Harvard U. Press. Annotation ©2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) - Choice Reviews : Choice Reviews 2013 August
The civil rights movement of the 1960s has had a lasting impact on American society. Although it has hardly been neglected by historians, until now there has been no comprehensive economic interpretation of these events. In this volume, Wright (American economic history, Stanford Univ.) offers an important and illuminating reinterpretation of the civil rights movement and its consequences for both black and white economic progress in the subsequent half century. The core of the book (chapters 3-6) examines in turn the desegregation of public accommodations, the impacts of the 1964 Civil Rights Act on labor markets, school desegregation, and voting rights and political representation. Drawing on close, insightful readings of contemporary and historical commentary as well as an extensive array of quantitative evidence, Wright shows that the transformations in the economic sphere were more rapid and complete than were the changes in education and politics; he argues persuasively that black economic progress also benefitted southern whites. The civil rights revolution was not without its costs, but Wright argues that these should not be overstated. The final chapter offers nuanced historical lessons. Summing Up: Essential. All collections. General Readers; Lower-division Undergraduates; Upper-division Undergraduates; Graduate Students; Researchers/Faculty; Professionals/Practitioners. J. L. Rosenbloom University of Kansas Copyright 2013 American Library Association.