African American history is often a neglected or subordinate area of study in the middle school and high school curricula of the United States. As is the case with other ethnic groups belonging to the diffuse and complex mosaic of the country, understanding the African American experience is a critical part of understanding the American experience. In this single-volume encyclopedia, Reich offers the reader a rich collection of articles that can guide and support curriculum design and lesson planning, as well as support student research.
The Great Black Migration is an umbrella term describing the diaspora of African Americans from rural southern regions of the US to urbanized areas of the north and west US roughly between the 1870s and 1970s. Considered by many historians to be one of the greatest mass relocations of any single ethnic group within the US, it is estimated that over 6 million African Americans were a part of the movement. Like the masses of Europeans immigrating to the US in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the Great Black Migration is a demographic phenomenon that reshaped the social, political, cultural and economic landscape of the country. In addition to altering the country at the macro level, the movement also profoundly changed black America by turning what was once a largely rural population into a predominantly urban one. Today, it is estimated that over 80 per cent of US blacks live in cities. Because of the broad timespan and complexity of the material most experts divide the movement into distinct waves. The first Great Migration, which is cited by some as beginning in 1910, describes the migration of rural blacks to northern cities to seek work in industry. The second Great Migration, starting in the 1940s, marks a mass exodus of both rural and urban blacks into the US western states to find work. Beginning in the 1960s, a reverse migration called the New Great Migration describes northern-based blacks, attracted by an upswing in the southern economy, moving back to southern areas of the US.
Reich’s treatment of the material focuses on the first and second waves between 1940 and 1970 and is drawn from the extensive body of quantitative and qualitative research literature on black migration funded by federal and municipal government agencies, churches and private social welfare programmes. He consolidates these data into a format appropriate to his audience. There are several ways to navigate the text. The body of the text is organized like a traditional encyclopedia with 97 article entries listed in alphabetical order. These entries cover a broad range of topics demonstrating the complexity of the subject. Information on people, places, watershed moments, organizations and events are contextualized within broader frameworks of economic, cultural and political history. The variety of topics is diverse for such a compact resource as this. Included are articles on well-known topics such as visionary W.E.B. DuBois, Unemployment, Black Migration before World War I and the Harlem Renaissance. Also included are articles on topics that are less known in mainstream culture. The article on Beauty highlights the work of entrepreneur and philanthropist, Madam C.J. Walker who founded a line of health and beauty products that helped her to become the first self-made, woman millionaire in the US. The article on the Black Consumer Market details the rise of black-owned businesses, but also touches upon white-owned companies’ inability to see the black population as a legitimate and profitable potential market. The article on the Caribbean Migration, a region sometimes overlooked by Eurocentric, US-based historians, details the movement of people of colour in the Caribbean Basin to US-owned plantations in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Central America.
Each article entry is scholarly and heavily referenced but is written in age appropriate vocabulary, making it suitable to its audience. Wherever applicable, illustrations and sections from primary source material supplement the text. A brief list of further reading and cross-references to other relevant entries in the encyclopedia are included at the end of each article. To ease navigation and provide readers with a broader view of the material, these articles are categorized into 11 manageable, thematic tracks. These themes, which include such broader topics such as culture, economy and politics, are outlined at the front of the encyclopedia and list cross-references to applicable individual article entries. This allows the reader to take either a focused or long view of the material. Also included is a separate list of the nine primary source documents that have been included in toto in the text. Finally, a detailed index provides yet another navigation aid.
Reich’s encyclopedia is highly recommended for high school (US) and secondary school (UK) students and for those who teach or assist at these levels. This work is also appropriate for the general reading audience who desire an easily accessible but comprehensive introduction to the subject matter.
