Black Spokane: The Civil Rights Struggle in the Inland NorthwestIn 1981, decades before mainstream America elected Barack Obama, James Chase became the first African American mayor of Spokane, Washington, with the overwhelming support of a majority-white electorate. Chase’s win failed to capture the attention of historians—as had the century-long evolution of the black community in Spokane. In Black Spokane: The Civil Rights Struggle in the Inland Northwest, Dwayne A. Mack corrects this oversight—and recovers a crucial chapter in the history of race relations and civil rights in America. As early as the 1880s, Spokane was a destination for black settlers escaping the racial oppression in the South—settlers who over the following decades built an infrastructure of churches, businesses, and social organizations to serve the black community. Drawing on oral histories, interviews, newspapers, and a rich array of other primary sources, Mack sets the stage for the years following World War II in the Inland Northwest, when an influx of black veterans would bring about a new era of racial issues. His book traces the earliest challenges faced by the NAACP and a small but sympathetic white population as Spokane became a significant part of the national civil rights struggle. International superstars such as Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong and Hazel Scott figure in this story, along with charismatic local preachers, entrepreneurs, and lawyers who stepped forward as civic leaders. These individuals’ contributions, and the black community’s encounters with racism, offer a view of the complexity of race relations in a city and a region not recognized historically as centers of racial strife. But in matters of race—from the first migration of black settlers to Spokane, through the politics of the Cold War and the civil rights movement, to the successes of the 1970s and ’80s—Mack shows that Spokane has a story to tell, one that this book at long last incorporates into the larger history of twentieth-century America. |
What people are saying - Write a review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - Carlie - LibraryThingBlack Spokane tells the story of the history of African Americans in Spokane. There is not much information about this community, perhaps because this is such a small population in such a majority ... Read full review
Other editions - View all
Black Spokane: The Civil Rights Struggle in the Inland Northwest Dwayne A. Mack Limited preview - 2014 |
Black Spokane: The Civil Rights Struggle in the Inland Northwest Dwayne A. Mack No preview available - 2014 |
Common terms and phrases
activists African Americans Americans in Spokane andthe Aryan Nations asthe attorney Baptist Church Barbershop became black community black leadership black population black soldiers Black Spokane blackowned BTWCC businesses Carl Maxey Census challenged city’s civil rights movement Colored communist decade Eastern Washington Eastern Washington University employment EWUASC federal folder Geiger George Washington Carver Gonzaga University hiring Horan housing Ibid INBHC incident Inland Northwest inSpokane interracial interview inthe investigate James Chase Jerrelene Williamson Jim Crow Johnson Kershner leaders Mary Boland Maxey’s mayor migration NAACP branch NAACPBFLOC–bII/C213 Negro ofblack ofRacial ofthe onthe organization political programs public accommodations racial discrimination racism Rob Higgins SCRR Seattle segregation served Sims social Spokane County Spokane NAACP Spokane residents Spokane’s Spokane’s black Spokanites Stokes suchas thatthe thecivil rights theNAACP theracial theSpokane tothe U.S. Bureau Washington State Archives Washington State University Wheeler white supremacy whiteowned women WorldWar WSBAD WSLCB
Bibliographic information
| Title | Black Spokane: The Civil Rights Struggle in the Inland Northwest Volume 8 of Race and Culture in the American West Series |
| Author | Dwayne A. Mack |
| Publisher | University of Oklahoma Press, 2014 |
| ISBN | 0806147121, 9780806147123 |
| Length | 216 pages |
| Subjects | › › › History / Social History History / United States / 19th Century History / United States / State & Local / Pacific Northwest (OR, WA) Law / Civil Rights Law / Discrimination Social Science / Discrimination & Race Relations Social Science / Ethnic Studies / African American Studies |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |