Beyond Jim Crow: Black Freedom in the American West

超越种族隔离：美国西部的黑人自由

• 批准号: AH/X012417/1
• 负责人: Kevin Waite
• 金额: $ 23.28万
• 依托单位: Durham University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Fellowship
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FX012417%2F1
• 关键词: Beyond; Jim; Crow; Black; Freedom

The project explores the unprecedented successes of African Americans in the U.S. West (1850-1900), with a focus on the vibrant Black community of Los Angeles. It challenges the common consensus that this period represented what scholars call the 'nadir' of modern African American history. This was the beginning of the Jim Crow era, which witnessed the segregation and political disfranchisement of Black people across the American South and parts of the North. Yet in the U.S. West, African Americans successfully combatted the worst effects of Jim Crow. Through a study of Black political activism, property ownership, and business practices, my project reveals the surprising power of African Americans in late 19th-century California, as well as the limits of Jim Crow.Biddy Mason was the principal enabler and architect of this community, and thus the project centres on her career. Born into slavery in Georgia, Mason was forced across the country in the mid-1800s. She won her freedom in L.A. in 1856, and then began investing in local real estate with money she earned from her work as a nurse and midwife to the growing city. Those investments seeded a family fortune worth $300,000 (roughly $9 million today). She also supported charities, hospitals, and prisons, and co-founded LA's first Black church, a pillar of the community to this day. Mason's personal history explains the rise of one of the most successful Black communities in America. The project will result in three major outputs: 1) the first book-length study of Biddy Mason's career and the origins of Black Los Angeles; 2) a graphic history of Mason's journey from slavery to freedom and fortune; 3) an application to induct six sites - all related to the history of slavery and emancipation in the American West - into a US register of historic landmarks. Major political developments and new initiatives make this project particularly timely and important. The 2020 murder of George Floyd has prompted a reckoning over race and the legacies of enslavement, not only in the U.S. but across the globe. In response, the National Park Service and the City of Los Angeles have launched separate (time-sensitive) initiatives to identify, register, and protect historic sites related to the African American experience. Drawing on this project's research, I will write reports for both organisations on historic Black sites in California. My work also joins a growing discussion over the legacies of slavery and the possibility of restitution. The state of California recently launched a task force - the first of its kind within the US - to recommend a reparations programme for descendants of slaves. My research into the early Black community of Los Angeles will inform that debate, by detailing the challenges that former slaves faced in California. In short, this project contributes toward a fuller, richer understanding of the struggle - and some of the hard-won successes - against racial oppression in America.Although ambitious, the project is feasible within the two-year fellowship period, as my past research leadership makes clear. I have already secured a book contract for the project's monograph (though more research remains to be done). The graphic novel will be based on research from the monograph, and thus I will be able to complete a full storyboard - i.e. a detailed panel-by-panel outline - by the end of the fellowships period. I also have extensive grant management experience. From 2019-2022, I co-directed a Collaborative Research Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), through which I built a network of scholars, advocates, and public officials who will be instrumental to this project. Funding from the AHRC would not, however, duplicate any of the work funded by the NEH. Rather, it would deploy the skills learned and networks formed from that past grant toward a major new study, with numerous engagement opportunities and pathways to impact.

该项目探讨了非洲裔美国人在美国西部（1850-1900年）前所未有的成功，重点是充满活力的洛杉矶黑人社区。它挑战了普遍的共识，即这一时期代表了学者们所说的现代非裔美国人历史的“最低点”。这是吉姆·克劳时代的开始，见证了美国南部和北部部分地区黑人的种族隔离和政治权利的剥夺。然而，在美国西部，非裔美国人成功地对抗了吉姆·克劳的最坏影响。通过对黑人政治活动，财产所有权和商业实践的研究，我的项目揭示了非洲裔美国人在19世纪后期加州令人惊讶的力量，以及吉姆·克劳的局限性。比迪·梅森是这个社区的主要推动者和建筑师，因此该项目以她的职业生涯为中心。梅森出生于格鲁吉亚的奴隶制家庭，19世纪中期被迫在全国各地流浪。她在洛杉矶赢得了自由1856年，然后开始投资当地的真实的房地产与钱，她从工作中赚来的护士和助产士到不断增长的城市。这些投资为家族带来了价值30万美元（约相当于今天的900万美元）的财富。她还支持慈善机构，医院和监狱，并共同创立了洛杉矶的第一个黑人教堂，直到今天仍然是社区的支柱。梅森的个人历史解释了美国最成功的黑人社区之一的崛起。该项目将产生三个主要成果：1）第一本书长度的研究比迪梅森的职业生涯和黑人洛杉矶的起源; 2）梅森从奴隶制到自由和财富的旅程的图形历史; 3）申请将六个网站-所有与美国西部奴隶制和解放的历史有关-纳入美国历史地标登记册。重大的政治事态发展和新的倡议使这个项目特别及时和重要。2020年谋杀乔治弗洛伊德的事件不仅在美国，而且在地球仪各地都引发了对种族和奴役遗产的清算。作为回应，国家公园管理局和洛杉矶市已经启动了单独的（时间敏感的）倡议，以确定，登记和保护与非洲裔美国人的经验有关的历史遗址。根据这个项目的研究，我将为这两个组织撰写关于加州历史上的黑人遗址的报告。我的工作也加入了越来越多的关于奴隶制遗产和恢复的可能性的讨论。加州州最近成立了一个特别工作组--这是美国首个此类工作组--为奴隶后代推荐一项赔偿计划。我对洛杉矶早期黑人社区的研究将通过详细描述前奴隶在加州面临的挑战来为这场辩论提供信息。简而言之，这个项目有助于更全面、更丰富地了解美国反对种族压迫的斗争--以及一些来之不易的成功。尽管雄心勃勃，但正如我过去的研究领导所表明的那样，这个项目在两年的奖学金期内是可行的。我已经为这个项目的专著签订了一份出书合同（尽管还有更多的研究要做）。图画小说将基于专题研究，因此我将能够完成一个完整的故事板-即一个详细的小组由小组大纲-由奖学金期间结束。我也有丰富的管理经验。从2019年至2022年，我共同指导了国家人文基金会（NEH）的合作研究资助，通过它，我建立了一个学者，倡导者和公职人员的网络，他们将有助于这个项目。然而，澳大利亚人权委员会的资助不会重复国家卫生局资助的任何工作。相反，它将把从过去的资助中学到的技能和形成的网络部署到一项重大的新研究中，并提供许多参与机会和影响途径。