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Power to the Poor: Black-Brown Coalition and the Fight for Economic Justice, 1960-1974
The Poor People's Campaign of 1968 has long been overshadowed by the assassination of its architect, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the political turmoil of that year. In a major reinterpretation of civil rights and Chicano movement history, Gordon K. Mantler demonstrates how King's unfinished crusade became the era's most high-profile attempt at multiracial collaboration and sheds light on the interdependent relationship between racial identity and political coalition among African Americans and Mexican Americans. Mantler argues that while the fight against poverty held great potential for black-brown cooperation, such efforts also exposed the complex dynamics between the nation's two largest minority groups.
Drawing on oral histories, archives, periodicals, and FBI surveillance files, Mantler paints a rich portrait of the campaign and the larger antipoverty work from which it emerged, including the labor activism of Cesar Chavez, opposition of Black and Chicano Power to state violence in Chicago and Denver, and advocacy for Mexican American land-grant rights in New Mexico. Ultimately, Mantler challenges readers to rethink the multiracial history of the long civil rights movement and the difficulty of sustaining political coalitions.
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Power to the Poor: Black-Brown Coalition and the Fight for Economic Justice, 1960-1974
The Poor People's Campaign of 1968 has long been overshadowed by the assassination of its architect, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the political turmoil of that year. In a major reinterpretation of civil rights and Chicano movement history, Gordon K. Mantler demonstrates how King's unfinished crusade became the era's most high-profile attempt at multiracial collaboration and sheds light on the interdependent relationship between racial identity and political coalition among African Americans and Mexican Americans. Mantler argues that while the fight against poverty held great potential for black-brown cooperation, such efforts also exposed the complex dynamics between the nation's two largest minority groups.
Drawing on oral histories, archives, periodicals, and FBI surveillance files, Mantler paints a rich portrait of the campaign and the larger antipoverty work from which it emerged, including the labor activism of Cesar Chavez, opposition of Black and Chicano Power to state violence in Chicago and Denver, and advocacy for Mexican American land-grant rights in New Mexico. Ultimately, Mantler challenges readers to rethink the multiracial history of the long civil rights movement and the difficulty of sustaining political coalitions.
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Power to the Poor: Black-Brown Coalition and the Fight for Economic Justice, 1960-1974

Power to the Poor: Black-Brown Coalition and the Fight for Economic Justice, 1960-1974

by Gordon K. Mantler
Power to the Poor: Black-Brown Coalition and the Fight for Economic Justice, 1960-1974
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Power to the Poor: Black-Brown Coalition and the Fight for Economic Justice, 1960-1974

Power to the Poor: Black-Brown Coalition and the Fight for Economic Justice, 1960-1974

by Gordon K. Mantler

Overview

The Poor People's Campaign of 1968 has long been overshadowed by the assassination of its architect, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the political turmoil of that year. In a major reinterpretation of civil rights and Chicano movement history, Gordon K. Mantler demonstrates how King's unfinished crusade became the era's most high-profile attempt at multiracial collaboration and sheds light on the interdependent relationship between racial identity and political coalition among African Americans and Mexican Americans. Mantler argues that while the fight against poverty held great potential for black-brown cooperation, such efforts also exposed the complex dynamics between the nation's two largest minority groups.
Drawing on oral histories, archives, periodicals, and FBI surveillance files, Mantler paints a rich portrait of the campaign and the larger antipoverty work from which it emerged, including the labor activism of Cesar Chavez, opposition of Black and Chicano Power to state violence in Chicago and Denver, and advocacy for Mexican American land-grant rights in New Mexico. Ultimately, Mantler challenges readers to rethink the multiracial history of the long civil rights movement and the difficulty of sustaining political coalitions.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781469621883
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date: 02/01/2015
Series: Justice, Power, and Politics
Edition description: New Edition
Pages: 376
Sales rank: 769,104
Product dimensions: 5.60(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Gordon K. Mantler is assistant professor of writing and of history, and director of Writing in the Disciplines at the George Washington University.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations in the Text xi

Introduction 1

1 The "Rediscovery" of Poverty 15

2 First Experiments 40

3 War, Power, and the New Politics 65

4 Poverty, Peace, and King's Challenge 90

5 Race and Resurrection City 121

6 Multiracial Efforts, Intra-racial Gains 154

7 The Limits of Coalition 186

8 Making the 1970s 208

Epilogue: Poverty, Coalition, and Identity Politics 242

Notes 249

Bibliography 313

Acknowledgments 341

Index 345

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Deft, graceful, and remarkable. Mantler completely changes the way we think about the final years of the modern civil rights movement.—Paul Ortiz, University of Florida

Mantler's important new book underscores the diversity within the Poor People's Campaign and emphasizes its potential to build political coalitions across regions and across race.—Lorena Oropeza, University of California, Davis

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