Synopses & Reviews
He had just given a rousing speech to a crammed assembly in St. Paul, but Frederick Douglass, confidant to the Great Emancipator himself and conscience of the Republican Party, was denied a hotel room because he was black. This was Minnesota in 1873, four years after the state had approved black suffrageandmdash;a state where andldquo;freedomandrdquo; meant being unshackled from chains but not social restrictions, where andldquo;equalityandrdquo; meant access to the ballot but not to a hotel or restaurant downtown.
Spanning the half century after the Civil War, Degrees of Freedom draws a rare picture of black experience in a northern state of this period and of the nature of black discontent and action within a predominantly white, ostensibly progressive society. William D. Green brings to light a full cast of little-known historical characters among the black men and women who moved to Minnesota following the Fifteenth Amendment; worked as farmhands and laborers; built communities (such as Pigandrsquo;s Eye Landing, later renamed St. Paul), businesses, and a newspaper (the Western Appeal); and embodied the slow but inexorable advancement of race relations in the state over time. Within this absorbing, often surprising, narrative we meet andldquo;ordinaryandrdquo; citizens, like former slave and early settler Jim Thompson and black barbers catering to a white clientele, but also outsize figures of national stature, such as Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, and W. E. B. Du Bois, all of whom championed civil rights in Minnesota. And we see how, in a state where racial prejudice and oppression wore a liberal mask, black settlers and entrepreneurs, politicians, and activists maneuvered within a restricted political arena to bring about real and lasting change.
Review
Degrees of Freedom is a thoroughly researched exploration of black Minnesota and how the idea of andlsquo;Minnesota Niceandrsquo; can be understood in terms of race relations and our stateandrsquo;s contribution to the civil rights movement. William D. Green offers us a meaningful look into how Minnesota managed to set precedents in antidiscrimination laws and provide progressive black and white leadership despite having a relatively small black population. He delves into the delicate balance of power between black activists and our progressive white society. This book will provide a deeper understanding of the challenges our community has faced and currently faces as we strive to close the achievement gap and move forward in creating true equal opportunity for all.
andmdash;Archie Givens, president of the Givens Foundation for African American Literature
About the Author
William D. Green, professor of history at Augsburg College, is the author of A Peculiar Imbalance: The Rise and Fall of Racial Equality in Minnesota.
Table of Contents
Contents
Preface
Part I. The Barbers
1. When America Came to St. Paul
2. Maurice Jernigan Takes a Stand
3. On Becoming a Good Republican
4. The Sons of Freedom
Part II. The Entrepreneurs
5. Mr. Douglass and the Civilizable Characteristics of the Colored Race
6. Senate Bill No. 181
7. A Certain Class of Citizens
8. Professor Washington, Leader of the Race
9. The Renaissance of the Cake Walk
Part III. The Radicals
10. Wheaton and McGhee: A Tale of Two Leaders
11. The Election of J. Frank Wheaton
12. A Call to Action
13. A Defining Moment for McGhee
14. After St. Paul, Niagara
15. The Legacy
Epilogue: Time for a Different Tone of Advocacy
Notes
Index