Winner of a 2005 Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Award (Honorable Mention)The Mexican Revolution was a defining moment in the history of race relations; impacting both Mexican and African Americans. For black Westerners; 1910–1920 did not represent the clear-cut promise of populist power; but a reordering of the complex social hierarchy which had; since the nineteenth century; granted them greater freedom in the borderlands than in the rest of the United States.Despite its lasting significance; the story of black Americans along the Mexican border has been sorely underreported in the annals of U.S. history. Gerald Horne brings the tale to life in Black and Brown. Drawing on archives on both sides of the border; a host of cutting-edge studies and oral histories; Horne chronicles the political currents which created and then undermined the Mexican border as a relative safe haven for African Americans. His account addresses blacks' role as “Indian fighters;†the relationship between African Americans and immigrants; and the U.S. government's growing fear of black disloyalty; among other essential concerns of the period: the heavy reliance of the U.S. on black soldiers along the border placed white supremacy and national security on a collision course that was ultimately resolved in favor of the latter. Mining a forgotten chapter in American history; Black and Brown offers tremendous insight into the past and future of race relations along the Mexican border.
#2631625 in Books AMACOM 2009-01-14Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 1.30 x 6.36 x 9.20l; 1.10 #File Name: 0814413536320 pages
Review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Taking the Sea. A thrilling story about salvaging shipwrecksBy AudreyDennis Powers's Taking the Sea is the thrilling story of Thomas PH Whitelaw who came from Scotland to America in 1863 when he was 16 and had only 25 cents in his pocket. Some years later he became a multi-millionaire through very hard; dangerous work as a salvager of wrecked or sunken ships. Whitelaw loved the challenge of saving ships; or when that wasn't possible; helping to salvage their cargo. When his salvage operation became larger; he hired divers who; like him; worked with primitive equipmant and hand-pumped airlines amidst dangerous sea creatures and in the darkness of deep; icy water. Those men had to be seasoned; tough and highly skilled in carpentry; diving; and engineering to patch the holes in the sides of a sunken ship so that the ship could be raised or at least divested of its cargo. When ships loaded ith expensive cargo went down; it often meant financial ruin for the ship's owner as well as the merchant(s) who would lose the value of the cargo. And there were 'salvagers' who would rush to the wreckage site and try to improve their own situation by bargaining with the captain for a share of the spoils--often while the imperiled ship was breaking up and sinking. People hoped that saving the lives of the passengers and crew would come before saving cargo--but that wasn't always the case. Powers is a marvelous story-teller and historian; and as such; he takes us 'safe and dry' to a period when sea captains had only primitive equipment and the stars to guide them through treacherous channels and the open seas. This was a time when one third of the ships were devoured by a ravenous sea because of violent (and in those days unpredictable) storms. Many of those ships still lie in Davey Jones's locker after crashing against submerged and uncharted rocks. Which is my favorite of Powers's books? Hmmm; tough question; they're all great. But Taking the Sea just might be the one.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A Ship Salvage Person Can Get Rich Fast.By bob egliThe story of the Sunken Ship Salvage Industry; how and when it started. Remarkable stories of the people and the ships of this era up to the 1930's in North America. Its one of those books that I will read again in a few years.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Four StarsBy Michael RyanGood read. Informative
