Overview

An exploration of the implications of postmodernism for the black community through an analysis of the civil rights and neighbourhood movements in Birmingham. Grounded not only in class struggle, the civil rights movement was tied to the politics of racial identity, the neighbourhood movement to the politics of place identity. Bobby Wilson critically examines these two movements, which together transformed race and place in Birmingham. He shows that although the civil rights struggle and neighbourhood empowerment served a valuable purpose, they cannot now overcome post-Fordist forces of domination and exclusion. Successful political movements, the author argues, must venture beyond the politics of identity and difference based on race and neighbourhood.

Full Product Details

9780847694839

Table of Contents

Reviews

This book is worthy of serious cosideration by dedicated students of Alabama history and by dedicated students of postmodern social, political, and economic movements. The Alabama Review Wilson is knowledgeable and insightful. CHOICE For historians too busy in the archives to keep abreast of theoretical trends, Wilson offers a gateway. Wilson offers a refreshing corrective to those who continue to celebrate difference and exaggerate worker's agency. The Labor History A provocative book. Economic Geography These two books [America's Johannesburg and Race and Place in Birmingham by Bobby M. Wilson] are extremely important and every urban scholar should read them. Most significant, Wilson has constructed a theoretical and conceptual framework that can be used to study the Black experience across time, as well as at specific moments in time. Urban Studies Highly recommended for those who want to gain the most current knowledge on how social change at the neighborhood level is linked to national movements and outcomes, and vice-versa. CHOICE

Author Information

Bobby M. Wilson is associate professor of geography and public affairs, University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available