Black New Jersey: 1664 to the Present Day

Description

Black New Jersey tells the rich and complex story of the African American community’s remarkable accomplishments and the colossal obstacles they faced along the way. Drawing from rare archives, historian Graham Russell Gao Hodges brings to life the courageous black men and women who fought for their freedom and eventually built a sturdy and substantial middle class. He explores how the state’s unique mix of religious, artistic, and cultural traditions have helped to produce such world-renowned figures as Paul Robeson, Cory Booker, and Queen Latifah, as well as a host of lesser-known but equally influential New Jersey natives. List of Illustrations | ix Introduction | 1 1 From Initial Euro-African Settlement to the Pre-Revolution, 1625–1763 | 12 2 From Revolution to Gradual Emancipation, 1764–1804 | 34 3 Slavery, Freedom, and Struggle, 1804–1860 | 59 4 The Civil War and Reconstruction to World War I | 98 5 Black New Jersey Battles Jim Crow, 1918–1940 | 159 6 World War II and Its Aftermath, 1940–1960 | 211 7 The 1960s–2014 | 249 8 Present and Future | 291 Acknowledgments | 301 Notes | 303 Index