Ethan Michaeli
Forfatter af The Defender: How the Legendary Black Newspaper Changed America
Værker af Ethan Michaeli
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Statistikker
- Værker
- 2
- Medlemmer
- 191
- Popularitet
- #114,255
- Vurdering
- 4.4
- Anmeldelser
- 4
- ISBN
- 15
I think of the book as something much like a wagon or bicycle wheel. We think of the large outer part of the wheel as the important part, providing the desired movement. But that movement is only achieved because that large outer wheel is connected by numerous spokes, each of which is important, to an central hub which initiates the driving force. In a similar way, the book discusses an important movement, that of the Black struggle for equality and social justice in the early and mid 20th Century. But that movement was achieved because of it's connection through many individual smaller struggles to the key central hub, "The Defender". "The Defender" was a small Chicago Newspaper started by and for the Black community in 1905, and which became a strong voice for social justice and equality for Blacks, not only in Chicago, but throughout the United States.
The book begins in the era of Jim Crow in the South and widespread segregation in the North. Robert Abbott came to Chicago during that era, and despite being a trained lawyer, struggled to find gainful employment. Despite numerous obstacles, in the early 1900's, Abbott founded "The Defender", a newspaper for the Black community. While many of the newspaper columns covered by "The Defender" were the significant issues in Chicago, Abbotts's newspaper also covered larger National issues, including lynchings in the South, and in particular the 1955 gruesome murder of 14 year-old Emmet Till in Mississippi; significant court cases; the inequities of segregation in the military in World War I and II; the Civil Rights movement; the struggle to integrate schools (not only in the South, but also in Chicago); stories of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King; boxer Jack Johnson; baseball player Jackie Robinson; and so many, many more. The Newspaper was able to not only bring attention to these issues, but also became a force for political change, and helped bring about improvements in housing, jobs, the military, and education for the Black community.
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