Publisher's Synopsis
In Their Own Interests presents a cross-section of southern urban blacks-the power-brokers and lesser-knowns, Garvey followers and communist enthusiasts-who came to live in Norfolk between the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement. Lewis seeks to recreate the texture of African-American life by examining the lives of the people after they moved to the city-the jobs and assistance they secured, the houses, families, and institutions they built, the battles they waged, and the culture they shared.
In Their Own Interests moves African-American urban and social history beyond the current intellectual crossroads. Drawing on a variety of sources, Lewis tells the interconnected story of race, class, and power in twentieth-century Norfolk. His study has far-reaching implications and should be of wide interest.