I Am a Man!

Race, Manhood, and the Civil Rights Movement

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Politics, Civil Rights, Social Science, Cultural Studies, African-American Studies, Gender Studies
Cover of the book I Am a Man! by Steve Estes, The University of North Carolina Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Steve Estes ISBN: 9780807876336
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press Publication: March 8, 2006
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press Language: English
Author: Steve Estes
ISBN: 9780807876336
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication: March 8, 2006
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Language: English

The civil rights movement was first and foremost a struggle for racial equality, but questions of gender lay deeply embedded within this struggle. Steve Estes explores key groups, leaders, and events in the movement to understand how activists used race and manhood to articulate their visions of what American society should be.

Estes demonstrates that, at crucial turning points in the movement, both segregationists and civil rights activists harnessed masculinist rhetoric, tapping into implicit assumptions about race, gender, and sexuality. Estes begins with an analysis of the role of black men in World War II and then examines the segregationists, who demonized black male sexuality and galvanized white men behind the ideal of southern honor. He then explores the militant new models of manhood espoused by civil rights activists such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., and groups such as the Nation of Islam, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and the Black Panther Party.

Reliance on masculinist organizing strategies had both positive and negative consequences, Estes concludes. Tracing these strategies from the integration of the U.S. military in the 1940s through the Million Man March in the 1990s, he shows that masculinism rallied men to action but left unchallenged many of the patriarchal assumptions that underlay American society.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The civil rights movement was first and foremost a struggle for racial equality, but questions of gender lay deeply embedded within this struggle. Steve Estes explores key groups, leaders, and events in the movement to understand how activists used race and manhood to articulate their visions of what American society should be.

Estes demonstrates that, at crucial turning points in the movement, both segregationists and civil rights activists harnessed masculinist rhetoric, tapping into implicit assumptions about race, gender, and sexuality. Estes begins with an analysis of the role of black men in World War II and then examines the segregationists, who demonized black male sexuality and galvanized white men behind the ideal of southern honor. He then explores the militant new models of manhood espoused by civil rights activists such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., and groups such as the Nation of Islam, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and the Black Panther Party.

Reliance on masculinist organizing strategies had both positive and negative consequences, Estes concludes. Tracing these strategies from the integration of the U.S. military in the 1940s through the Million Man March in the 1990s, he shows that masculinism rallied men to action but left unchallenged many of the patriarchal assumptions that underlay American society.

More books from The University of North Carolina Press

Cover of the book Builders of Empire by Steve Estes
Cover of the book Rich Indians by Steve Estes
Cover of the book The Deacons for Defense by Steve Estes
Cover of the book U. S. Grant by Steve Estes
Cover of the book Linthead Stomp by Steve Estes
Cover of the book Closing the Gate by Steve Estes
Cover of the book Bowled Over by Steve Estes
Cover of the book White Ethnic New York by Steve Estes
Cover of the book Iron and Steel by Steve Estes
Cover of the book The Great Catastrophe of My Life by Steve Estes
Cover of the book The Party at Jack's by Steve Estes
Cover of the book George Mason, Forgotten Founder by Steve Estes
Cover of the book Muslim Pilgrimage in the Modern World by Steve Estes
Cover of the book Building Houses out of Chicken Legs by Steve Estes
Cover of the book Radio Free Dixie by Steve Estes
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy