Overview

Once one of the wealthiest cities in America, Charleston, South Carolina, established a society built on the racial hierarchies of slavery and segregation. By the 1970s, the legal structures behind these racial divisions had broken down, and the wealth built upon them faded. Like many southern cities, Charleston had to construct a new public image. In this important book, Steve Estes chronicles the rise and fall of black political empowerment and examines the ways Charleston responded to the civil rights movement, embracing some changes and resisting others. Based on detailed archival research and more than fifty oral history interviews, Charleston in Black and White addresses the complex roles played not only by race but also by politics, labor relations, criminal justice, education, religion, tourism, economics, and the military in shaping a modern southern city. Despite the advances and opportunities that have come to the city since the 1960s, Charleston (like much of the South) has not fully reckoned with its troubled racial past, which still influences the present and will continue to shape the future.

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9781469622323

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Reviews

Southern history aficionados and scholars alike will appreciate this compact analysis of race relations in Charleston that has sadly become all too relevant in the wake of recent events.-- Library Journal

A community study that ties Charleston to larger national trends while also showing how its convoluted history challenges popular notions of the post-civil rights South.--Oral History Review Beyond his important contributions to Charleston's history, Estes explicitly addresses civil right historiography.--North Carolina Historical Review A good narrative, full of insight and aware of the broader urban and regional contexts.--American Historical Review Southern history aficionados and scholars alike will appreciate this compact analysis of race relations in Charleston that has sadly become all too relevant in the wake of recent events.--Library Journal An essential read on recent southern history.--H-Net Reviews Commended for its extensive use of interviews, [and] is helpful in putting the recent history of Charleston into perspective.--Choice For those endeavoring to make sense of the color line in the post-civil rights era, Charleston in Black and White is an excellent starting point.--Register of the Kentucky Historical Society -A good narrative, full of insight and aware of the broader urban and regional contexts.--American Historical Review Southern history aficionados and scholars alike will appreciate this compact analysis of race relations in Charleston that has sadly become all too relevant in the wake of recent events.-- Library Journal

Commended for its extensive use of interviews, [and] is helpful in putting the recent history of Charleston into perspective.-- Choice

Author Information

Steve Estes is professor of history at Sonoma State University, USA and author of I AM a Man! and Ask & Tell.

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