The African American Urban Experience

Historians and general readers alike owe a debt to Joe W. Trotter, Earl Lewis, and Tera W. Hunter for this wide-ranging, deep-running, interdisciplinary study of African-American urban history. Placing African Americans at the center of their investigation, they show the complexities of class, gender, and race in urban life. This fresh and important history is essential reading for anyone interested in American cities. It testifies to the vigor of collaborative scholarship.

- Nell Irvin Painter, Edwards Professor of American History at Princeton University, author of Sojourner Truth, A Life, A Symbol and Southern History Across the Color Line.

"An intellectually enchanting collection - a state of the field volume that brings African American history to life. The distinguished editors provide both an essential reference work and an exciting undergraduate reader."

- Vicki L. Ruiz, author of From Out of the Shadows: Mexican Women in Twentieth Century America

"Trotter, Lewis, and Hunter have assembled a lively collection of essays covering topics as wide-ranging as the history of slavery, public policy, gender, and labor. This volume offers a valuable introduction to the state of social scientific and historical research on blacks in urban America."

- Thomas J. Sugrue, Bicentennial Class of 1940 Professor of History and Sociology Chair of the History Graduate Group University of Pennsylvania