Jim Crow Capital

Mary-Elizabeth B. Murphy's Jim Crow Capital is in some ways a groundbreaking study of early twentieth-century black women's activism in the nation's capital that extends the scope of the modern “long civil rights movement.” It also further demonstrates the presence of a civil rights movement before the civil rights movement, as well as how this early political organizing among African American women not only included but in many ways also centered women's issues and labor issues. In doing so, the book uncovers an underrecognized foundation of the postwar civil rights movement. Situated in Washington, D.C., during the period between 1871 and 1945, Murphy's book demonstrates how politics is—and is not—local. For example, outlawing lynching was just as much a concern to D.C. activists as it was to black activists nationwide—and just as unsuccessful in establishing a federal antilynching law. Over time, black women activists shifted attention to the issue of police brutality—an ongoing problem for black Americans. These activists worked with both the advantages and disadvantages of living in Washington, D.C. On the one hand, they focused on restoring voting rights for D.C. residents, and with it, home rule (a quest that has recently morphed into the pursuit of full-fledged statehood). On the other hand, they enjoyed an unusual degree of access to congressional officials. In this way Murphy demonstrates the local side of national activism. She also emphasizes the gendered nature of this activism—demonstrating how, contrary to the popular historical image, black women activists during this period were more than the support troops for black men. For example, in their fight to eradicate police brutality, black women sought to make Washington, D.C., “safe for Negro womanhood” (p. 100). And during the New Deal, activists focused on winning employment for black women that went beyond domestic service or office cleaning

Capital (architecture · Civil rights · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Spanish Civil War · Suffrage · Voting · American Constitutional Law and Politics · American History and Culture · Gender Studies · History · Law · Race, History, and American Society