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Black Detroit and the Rise of the UAW
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1980
Year
August MeierCritical Race TheoryRace LawLawRacial StudyBlack ExperienceAfrican American HistorySocial SciencesRaceContemporary RacismLabor History.African American StudiesCivil RightsUrban HistoryEthnic StudiesDisplacement StudiesAfrican American MemoryElliott RudwickAnti-racismBlack PoliticsBusiness HistoryBlack Women’s StudiesSociologyAfrican American SlaveryBlack DetroitRace Relation
Black Detroit and the Rise of the UAW traces the intertwined history of African‑American workers and the UAW in Detroit, showing how race and class conflict shaped the auto industry and marking a major contribution to Afro‑American labor history. The book aims to establish a clear link between race and class conflict in the twentieth century by mapping how black workers in Detroit’s auto plants interacted with white economic institutions.
For almost two decades, August Meier and Elliott Rudwick have roamed the frontier of Afro-American history, blazing trails that others have followed. This book forges a solid link between race and class conflict in the twentieth century.---Ira Berlin, The NationThis fact-filled study is essential to students of the labor and civil rights movements.---David Kusnet, The New RepublicA fascinating slice of history illustrating important race and class issues that are still with us.---Library JournalBy ignoring the conventional lines between labor and black history, Meier and Rudwick have found an unexplored middle ground---the net of relations between the black community and white economic institutions---that shaped the working life of blacks in Detroit's auto plants. This is a major achievement. one of the first to apply the nitty-gritty of social and institutional history to 20th century African American and labor history.---Eric Arnesen, University of Illinois at ChicagoBlack Detroit and the Rise of the UAW is essential reading for historians of labor and race in America, as well those interested in Detroit's importance as a crucible for American urban history.