Bridges Of Memory

by Black, Timuel D., Jr.

• ISBN13: 9780810123151
• ISBN10: 0810123150
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-02-22
• Publisher: Northwestern Univ Pr

Summary

In their first great migration to Chicago that began during World War I, African Americans came from the South seeking a better life--and fleeing a Jim Crow system of racial prejudice, discrimination, and segregation. What they found was much less than what they'd hoped for, but it was much better than what they'd come from--and in the process they set in motion vast changes not only in Chicago but also in the whole fabric of American society. This book, the first of three volumes, revisits this momentous chapter in American history with those who lived it. Oral history of the first order,Bridges of Memorylets us hear the voices of those who left social, political, and economic oppression for political freedom and opportunity such as they'd never known--and for new forms of prejudice and segregation. These children and grandchildren of ex-slaves found work in the stockyards and steel mills of Chicago, settled and started small businesses in the "Black Belt" on the South Side, and brought forth the jazz, blues, and gospel music that the city is now known for. Historian Timuel D. Black, Jr., himself the son of first-generation migrants to Chicago, interviews a wide cross-section of African Americans whose remarks and reflections touch on issues ranging from fascism to Jim Crow segregation to the origin of the blues. Their recollections comprise a vivid record of a neighborhood, a city, a society, and a people undergoing dramatic and unprecedented changes.

Author Biography

Timuel D. Black, Jr. is a prominent civil rights activist, noted jazz historian, and professor emeritus of social sciences at the City Colleges of Chicago. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, he moved to Chicago as a baby, and has lived here since. He holds a B.A. from Roosevelt University and a master's degree from the University of Chicago.

Table of Contents

Foreword	vii
John Hope Franklin
Foreword	ix
Studs Terkel
Introduction	xi
Willis Thomas	3	(9)
Warren Kirkland (and Mr. Rhodes)	12	(5)
Thomas Ellis and Edith Ellis	17	(18)
Fred Smith	35	(11)
Representative Corneal Davis	46	(9)
Lillie Lodge Brantley	55	(12)
Robert Colin	67	(9)
Ida Mae Cress	76	(13)
Ernest Griffin	89	(10)
Etta Moten Barnett	99	(17)
Alonzo Parham	116	(13)
Gwendolyn Davis	129	(5)
Irma Clark	134	(8)
Wayman Hancock	142	(16)
Jimmy Ellis	158	(17)
Morris Ellis	175	(18)
John Levy	193	(14)
Eddie Johnson	207	(14)
Juanita Tucker	221	(21)
Mildred Bowden and Hermene Hartman	242	(17)
Louis Caldwell	259	(7)
Alvin ``Al'' Boutte	266	(14)
James ``Jack'' Isbell	280	(22)
Dorsey Day	302	(17)
Jacoby Dickens	319	(14)
Dorothy McConner	333	(10)
George Johnson	343	(45)
Walter ``Buddy'' Brown	388	(15)
Commander Milton Deas Jr.	403	(18)
Dr. Rudy Nimocks	421	(21)
LeRoy Martin	442	(25)
Judge Earl Strayhorn	467	(28)
Justice William Cousins	495	(30)
Marjorie Echols and Harvey Echols	525	(22)
Bishop Arthur Brazier	547	(21)
Dr. Barbara Bowman and Dr. James Bowman	568	(33)
Conclusion	601	(2)
Index	603