Straddling the Color Line: Social and Political Power of African American Elites in Charleston, New Orleans, and Cleveland, 1880-1920

Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Carey, Kim M.
Language:	English
Published:	Kent State University / OhioLINK 2013
Subjects:	African American Studies African Americans Black History Black Studies History African American History Cleveland Ohio Charleston South Carolina New Orleans Louisiana African American Elites African American Political Power
Online Access:	http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1366839959

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spelling	ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-kent13668399592021-08-03T05:22:45Z Straddling the Color Line: Social and Political Power of African American Elites in Charleston, New Orleans, and Cleveland, 1880-1920 Carey, Kim M. African American Studies African Americans Black History Black Studies History African American History Black History Cleveland Ohio Charleston South Carolina New Orleans Louisiana African American Elites African American Political Power From 1880-1920 the United States struggled to incorporate former slaves into the citizenship of the nation. Constitutional amendments legislated freedom for African Americans, but custom dictated otherwise. White people equated power and wealth with whiteness. Conversely, blackness suggested poverty and lack of opportunity. Straddling the Color Line is a multi-city examination of influential and prominent African Americans who lived with one foot in each world, black and white, but who in reality belonged to neither. These influential men lived lives that mirrored Victorian white gentlemen. In many cases they enjoyed all the same privileges as their white counterparts. At other times they were forced into uncomfortable alliances with less affluent African Americans who looked to them for support, protection and guidance, but with whom they had no commonalities except perhaps the color of their skin.This dissertation argues two main points. One is that members of the black elite had far more social and political power than previously understood. Some members of the black elite did not depend on white patronage or paternalism to achieve success. Some influential white men developed symbiotic relationships across the color line with these elite African American men and they treated each other with mutual affection and respect.The second point is that the nadir in race relations occurred at different times in different cities. In the three cities studied, the nadir appeared first in Charleston, then New Orleans and finally in Cleveland. Although there were setbacks in progress toward equality, many blacks initially saw the setbacks as temporary regressions. Most members of the elite were unwilling to concede that racism was endemic before the onset of the Twentieth Century. In Cleveland, the appearance of significant racial oppression was not evident until after the World War I and resulted from the Great Migration. Immigrants from the Deep South migrated to the North seeking opportunity and freedom. They discovered that in recreating the communities of their homeland, they also created conditions that allowed racism to flourish. 2013-04-25 English text Kent State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1366839959 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1366839959 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.
collection	NDLTD
language	English
sources	NDLTD
topic	African American Studies African Americans Black History Black Studies History African American History Black History Cleveland Ohio Charleston South Carolina New Orleans Louisiana African American Elites African American Political Power
spellingShingle	African American Studies African Americans Black History Black Studies History African American History Black History Cleveland Ohio Charleston South Carolina New Orleans Louisiana African American Elites African American Political Power Carey, Kim M. Straddling the Color Line: Social and Political Power of African American Elites in Charleston, New Orleans, and Cleveland, 1880-1920
author	Carey, Kim M.
author_facet	Carey, Kim M.
author_sort	Carey, Kim M.
title	Straddling the Color Line: Social and Political Power of African American Elites in Charleston, New Orleans, and Cleveland, 1880-1920
title_short	Straddling the Color Line: Social and Political Power of African American Elites in Charleston, New Orleans, and Cleveland, 1880-1920
title_full	Straddling the Color Line: Social and Political Power of African American Elites in Charleston, New Orleans, and Cleveland, 1880-1920
title_fullStr	Straddling the Color Line: Social and Political Power of African American Elites in Charleston, New Orleans, and Cleveland, 1880-1920
title_full_unstemmed	Straddling the Color Line: Social and Political Power of African American Elites in Charleston, New Orleans, and Cleveland, 1880-1920
title_sort	straddling the color line: social and political power of african american elites in charleston, new orleans, and cleveland, 1880-1920
publisher	Kent State University / OhioLINK
publishDate	2013
url	http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1366839959
work_keys_str_mv	AT careykimm straddlingthecolorlinesocialandpoliticalpowerofafricanamericanelitesincharlestonneworleansandcleveland18801920
_version_	1719419052118507520

Straddling the Color Line: Social and Political Power of African American Elites in Charleston, New Orleans, and Cleveland, 1880-1920

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