Description
Marcus Garvey, Claude McKay, Claudia Jones, C.L.R. James, Stokely Carmichael, Louis Farakhan-the roster of immigrants from the Caribbean who have made a profound impact on the development of radical politics in the United States is extensive. In this magisterial and lavishly illustrated work, Winston James focuses on the twentieth century's first waves of immigrants from the Caribbean and their contribution to political dissidence in America.
Examining the way in which the characteristics of the societies they left shaped their perceptions of the land to which they traveled, Winston James draws sharp differences between Hispanic, Anglophone, and other non-Hispanic arrivals. He explores the interconnections between the Cuban independence struggle, Puerto Rican nationalism, Afro-American feminism, and black communism in the first turbulent decades of the twentieth century. He also provides fascinating insights into the peculiarities of Puerto Rican radicalism's impact in New York City and recounts the remarkable story of Afro-Cuban radicalism in Florida. Virgin Islander Hubert Harrison, whom A. Philip Randolph dubbed 'the father of Harlem radicalism', is rescued from the historical shadows by James's analysis of his pioneering contribution to Afro-America's radical tradition. In addition to a subtle re-examination of Garvey's Universal Negro Movement Association-including the exertions and contributions of its female members-James provides the most detailed exploration so far undertaken of Cyril Briggs and his little-known but important African Blood Brotherhood.
This diligently researched, wide ranging and sophisticated book will be welcomed by all those interested in the Caribbean and its emigres, the Afro-American current within America's radical tradition, and the history, politics, and culture of the African diaspora.
This is a systemic study of the politics and culture of the Afro-Caribbean migration to the United States, explaining the enigma of political radicalism among Caribbean migrants in America. It reports on black leadership, from Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam to Colin Powell.
About the Author
Winston James is the author of A Fierce Hatred of Injustice: Claude McKay's Jamaica and His Poetry of Rebellion (2000), The Struggles of John Brown Russwurm: The Life and Writings of a Pan-Africanist Pioneer, 1799-1851 (2010) and editor with Clive Harris of Inside Babylon: The Caribbean Diaspora in Britain (1993). James won the Gordon K. Lewis Memorial Award for Caribbean Scholarship from the Caribbean Studies Association for Holding Aloft the Banner of Ethiopia. He is Professor of History at the University of California, Irvine.
Reviews
Superbly written, full of well-digested and considered detail, it is a historic chronicle. -- Edward Said
A brilliant, nuanced and sensitive re-examination of the history of Caribbean radicals and radicalism in the United States. James's book will survive for many years as the standard work on the subject and establishes the author as one of the premier scholars of the African Diaspora. -- Colin Palmer, City University of New York
A major historical contribution to the 'hidden history' of the African diaspora . richly detailed, powerful and compelling. -- Stuart Hall, The Open University
Imaginatively written in addition to its solid scholarly base, this book breaks significant new ground in our understanding of modern black American radicalism. -- Arnold Rampersad, Princeton University
In this thoroughly researched and tightly argued book Winston James has revealed and explained the prominent role of Afro-Caribbean immigrants in socialist, communist and nationalist struggles in the United States, whilst rescuing the topic from the stereotypes that have long surrounded it. -- David Montgomery, Yale University
James elucidates, as no one has done before him, just how profound were the Caribbean contributions that enriched the soil of American radicalism . A truly prodigious and imaginative reconstruction [which] heralds a genuine renascence of radical scholarship in the best Caribbean tradition. -- Robert A. Hill, University of California, Los Angeles
Powerfully argued and provocative, Holding Aloft the Banner of Ethiopia literally reframes our understanding of the African-American experience. -- Thomas C. Holt, University of Chicago
Book Information
ISBN 9781859841402
Author Winston James
Format Paperback
Page Count 440
Imprint Verso Books
Publisher Verso Books
Weight(grams) 1020g
Dimensions(mm) 236mm * 157mm * 33mm
Examining the way in which the characteristics of the societies they left shaped their perceptions of the land to which they traveled, Winston James draws sharp differences between Hispanic, Anglophone, and other non-Hispanic arrivals. He explores the interconnections between the Cuban independence struggle, Puerto Rican nationalism, Afro-American feminism, and black communism in the first turbulent decades of the twentieth century. He also provides fascinating insights into the peculiarities of Puerto Rican radicalism's impact in New York City and recounts the remarkable story of Afro-Cuban radicalism in Florida. Virgin Islander Hubert Harrison, whom A. Philip Randolph dubbed 'the father of Harlem radicalism', is rescued from the historical shadows by James's analysis of his pioneering contribution to Afro-America's radical tradition. In addition to a subtle re-examination of Garvey's Universal Negro Movement Association-including the exertions and contributions of its female members-James provides the most detailed exploration so far undertaken of Cyril Briggs and his little-known but important African Blood Brotherhood.
This diligently researched, wide ranging and sophisticated book will be welcomed by all those interested in the Caribbean and its emigres, the Afro-American current within America's radical tradition, and the history, politics, and culture of the African diaspora.
This is a systemic study of the politics and culture of the Afro-Caribbean migration to the United States, explaining the enigma of political radicalism among Caribbean migrants in America. It reports on black leadership, from Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam to Colin Powell.
About the Author
Winston James is the author of A Fierce Hatred of Injustice: Claude McKay's Jamaica and His Poetry of Rebellion (2000), The Struggles of John Brown Russwurm: The Life and Writings of a Pan-Africanist Pioneer, 1799-1851 (2010) and editor with Clive Harris of Inside Babylon: The Caribbean Diaspora in Britain (1993). James won the Gordon K. Lewis Memorial Award for Caribbean Scholarship from the Caribbean Studies Association for Holding Aloft the Banner of Ethiopia. He is Professor of History at the University of California, Irvine.
Reviews
Superbly written, full of well-digested and considered detail, it is a historic chronicle. -- Edward Said
A brilliant, nuanced and sensitive re-examination of the history of Caribbean radicals and radicalism in the United States. James's book will survive for many years as the standard work on the subject and establishes the author as one of the premier scholars of the African Diaspora. -- Colin Palmer, City University of New York
A major historical contribution to the 'hidden history' of the African diaspora . richly detailed, powerful and compelling. -- Stuart Hall, The Open University
Imaginatively written in addition to its solid scholarly base, this book breaks significant new ground in our understanding of modern black American radicalism. -- Arnold Rampersad, Princeton University
In this thoroughly researched and tightly argued book Winston James has revealed and explained the prominent role of Afro-Caribbean immigrants in socialist, communist and nationalist struggles in the United States, whilst rescuing the topic from the stereotypes that have long surrounded it. -- David Montgomery, Yale University
James elucidates, as no one has done before him, just how profound were the Caribbean contributions that enriched the soil of American radicalism . A truly prodigious and imaginative reconstruction [which] heralds a genuine renascence of radical scholarship in the best Caribbean tradition. -- Robert A. Hill, University of California, Los Angeles
Powerfully argued and provocative, Holding Aloft the Banner of Ethiopia literally reframes our understanding of the African-American experience. -- Thomas C. Holt, University of Chicago
Book Information
ISBN 9781859841402
Author Winston James
Format Paperback
Page Count 440
Imprint Verso Books
Publisher Verso Books
Weight(grams) 1020g
Dimensions(mm) 236mm * 157mm * 33mm
