A thoroughly researched and well-written account of the
African-American contribution to the shaping of the west. Taylor
(History/Univ. of Oregon) both provides much new information about
African-Americans in the western US and recounts well-known
stories. As an instance of the latter, he retells the familiar tale
of Estevan, the Moorish servant who in 1529, accompanying Cabeza de
Vaca, was the first non-Native American to glimpse the Southwest.
After him followed other Africans. In the Spanish colonies of New
Mexico, they were accepted as equals - if, that is, they could
afford the cost of a royal certificate that "cleansed" them of
their supposedly impure origins. It was more difficult to attain
equality among the Anglo pioneers, writes Taylor; when Texas was a
Mexican outpost, blacks could own property, but with the onset of
the war of independence (and many blacks fought on the side of Sam
Houston and company), they found that they themselves were property
once more. When the doctrine of Manifest Destiny lured the US
westward, slavery did not tag along (except in Utah). But neither
did equality gain a firm toehold, not even in areas where
African-American communities were well established, notably
California, where thousands of blacks had entered the goldfields to
seek their fortune. In other parts of the West, African-Americans
also settled in numbers and formed middle-class communities,
notably in Helena, Mont., and Topeka, Kans. - and were grudgingly
accepted in many places, actively discriminated against in others.
But, as one Georgia-born black resident of Phoenix, Ariz., remarked
in 1916, "At least they don't lynch you here, like they did back
there." Taylor divides his attention evenly between the 19th and
20th centuries, making this a highly useful survey volume for
college courses - and a work of value to general readers. (Kirkus
Reviews)
African Americans in the American West 1528–1990 "This is an enthralling work that will be essential reading for years to come. You finish it understanding how integral a part blacks were of the making of the West and, indeed, America." — David Nicholson, Washington Post
A landmark history of African Americans in the West, In Search of the Racial Frontier rescues the collective American consciousness from thinking solely of European pioneers when considering the exploration, settling, and conquest of the territory west of the Mississippi. From its surprising discussions of groups of African American wholly absorbed into Native American culture to illustrating how the largely forgotten role of blacks in the West helped contribute to everything from the Brown vs. Board of Education desegregation ruling to the rise of the Black Panther Party, Quintard Taylor fills a major void in American history and reminds us that the African American experience is unlimited by reion or social status.
"[Rich] in scope and scholarly detail — it will certinaly stand as the definitive work on the subject for some time to come." — James A. Miller, Boston Globe
"[B]y far the most complete general history of blacks in the West." — Scott L. Malcolmson, Newsday
- "An absorbing chronicle." — Publisher's Weekly
- "Those looking for a solid overview of the African-American presence in our region would do well to let Quintard Taylor be their guide." — John C. Walter, Seattle Times
Quintard Taylor is a professor of history at the University of Oregon. He lives in Eugene, Oregon.
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