Protest and Propaganda: W. E. B. Du Bois, the Crisis, and American History

Erscheinungsjahr 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8262-2005-9
Verlag: UNIV OF MISSOURI PR

Buch, Englisch, 272 Seiten, Hardback, Format (B × H): 160 mm x 236 mm, Gewicht: 612 g

In looking back on his editorship of <em>Crisis</em> magazine, W. E. B. Du Bois said, “We condensed more news about Negroes and their problems in a month than most coloured papers before this had published in a year.” Since its founding by Du Bois in 1910, <em>Crisis</em> has been the primary published voice of the NAACP. Born in an age of Jim Crow racism, often strapped for funds, the magazine struggled and endured, all the while providing a forum for people of colour to document their inherent dignity and proclaim their definitive worth as human beings. <br><br>As the magazine’s editor from 1910 until 1934, Du Bois guided the content and the aim of <em>Crisis</em> with a decisive hand. He ensured that each issue argued for civil rights, economic justice, and social equality, always framing America’s intractable colour line in an international perspective. Du Bois benefited from a deep pool of black literary and artistic genius, whether by commissioning the visual creativity of Harlem Renaissance artists for <em>Crisis</em> covers or by publishing poems and short stories from New Negro writers. From North to South, from East to West, and even reaching across the globe, <em>Crisis</em> circulated its ideas and marshalled its impact far and wide. <br><br>Building on the solid foundation Du Bois laid, subsequent editors and contributors covered issues vital to communities of colour, such as access to resources during the New Deal era, educational opportunities related to the historic <em>Brown</em> decision, the realization of basic civil rights at midcentury, American aid to Africa and Caribbean nations, and the persistent economic inequalities of today’s global era.<br><br>Despite its importance, little has been written about the historical and cultural significance of this seminal magazine. By exploring how <em>Crisis</em> responded to critical issues, the essays in <em>Protest and Propaganda</em> provide the first well-rounded, in-depth look at the magazine's role and influence. The authors show how the essays, columns, and visuals published in <em>Crisis</em> changed conversations, perceptions, and even laws in the United States, thereby calling a fractured nation to more fully live up to its democratic creed. They explain how the magazine survived tremendous odds, document how the voices of justice rose above the clamor of injustice, and demonstrate how relevant such literary, journalistic, and artistic postures remain in a twenty-first-century world still in crisis.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Kirschke, Amy Helene

Sinitiere, Phillip Luke

Über Autor(innen)

<strong>Amy Helene Kirschke</strong> is Professor of Art History and History at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, USA. She is author or editor of three other books, including <em>Art in Crisis: W. E. B. Du Bois and the Struggle for African American Identity and Memory</em>. <br><br><strong>Phillip Luke Sinitiere</strong> is Associate Professor of History at the College of Bible Studies in Houston, Texas, USA. He is author or editor of three other books, including <em>Holy Mavericks: Evangelical Innovators and the Spiritual Marketplace</em>.