Kirjahaku

A fresh reassessment of one of the most powerful black men in American history. This book will help reshape the prism through which the life, work, strategy, and contributions of Booker T. Washington are examined.--David H. Jackson Jr., author of A Chief Lieutenant of the Tuskegee Machine. ""Although scholars and lay persons alike most often think of Washington as an educator, this impressive text reveals that his business ideas and practices have had a much greater and longer impact on Americans, especially African Americans.""--Kenneth Hamilton, Southern Methodist University. Michael Boston offers a radical departure from other interpretations of Booker T. Washington by focusing on the latter’s business ideas and practices. More specifically, Boston examines Washington as an entrepreneur, spelling out his business philosophy at great length and discussing the influence it had on black America. He analyzes the national and regional economies in which Washington worked and focuses on his advocacy of black business development as the key to economic uplift for African Americans. The result is a revisionist book that responds to the skewed literature on Washington even as it offers a new framework for understanding him. Based upon a deep reading of the Tuskegee archives, it acknowledges Washington not only as a champion of black business development but one who conceived and implemented successful strategies to promote it as well.

Michael Boston offers a radical departure from other interpretations of Booker T. Washington by focusing on the latter’s business ideas and practices. More specifically, Boston examines Washington as an entrepreneur, spelling out his business philosophy at great length and discussing the influence it had on black America. He analyses the national and regional economies in which Washington worked and focuses on his advocacy of black business development as the key to economic uplift for African Americans. The result is a revisionist book that responds to the skewed literature on Washington even as it offers a new framework for understanding him. Based upon a deep reading of the Tuskegee archives, it acknowledges Washington not only as a champion of black business development but one who conceived and implemented successful strategies to promote it as well. The Business Strategy of Booker T. Washington makes abundantly clear that Washington was not an accommodationist; it will be required reading for any future discussion of this titan of history.

A detailed study of the history of African Americans in a small upstate New York city from the days of the Underground Railroad to the deindustrialization of the 1980s.Blacks in Niagara Falls narrates and analyzes the history of Black Niagarans from the days of the Underground Railroad to the Age of Urban Renewal. Michael B. Boston details how Black Niagarans found themselves on the margins of society from the earliest days to how they came together as a community to proactively fight and struggle to obtain an equal share of society's opportunities. Boston explores how Blacks came to Niagara Falls in increasing numbers usually in search of economic opportunities, later establishing essential institutions, such as churches and community centers, which manifested and reinforced their values, and interacted with the broader community, seeking an equitable share of other society opportunities. This singular examination of a small city significantly contributes to Urban History and African American Studies scholarly research, which generally focuses on large cities. Combining primary source data with extensive interviews gathered over an eighteen-year period in which the author immersed himself in the Niagara community, Blacks in Niagara Falls offers an insightful study of how one small city community grew over its unique history.

A detailed study of the history of African Americans in a small upstate New York city from the days of the Underground Railroad to the deindustrialization of the 1980s.Blacks in Niagara Falls narrates and analyzes the history of Black Niagarans from the days of the Underground Railroad to the Age of Urban Renewal. Michael B. Boston details how Black Niagarans found themselves on the margins of society from the earliest days to how they came together as a community to proactively fight and struggle to obtain an equal share of society's opportunities. Boston explores how Blacks came to Niagara Falls in increasing numbers usually in search of economic opportunities, later establishing essential institutions, such as churches and community centers, which manifested and reinforced their values, and interacted with the broader community, seeking an equitable share of other society opportunities. This singular examination of a small city significantly contributes to Urban History and African American Studies scholarly research, which generally focuses on large cities. Combining primary source data with extensive interviews gathered over an eighteen-year period in which the author immersed himself in the Niagara community, Blacks in Niagara Falls offers an insightful study of how one small city community grew over its unique history.