How African Americans thrived in a West Virginia city

By 1930, Huntington had become West Virginia's largest city. Its booming economy and relatively tolerant racial climate attracted African Americans from across Appalachia and the South. Prosperity gave these migrants political clout and spurred the formation of communities that defined black Huntington—factors that empowered blacks to confront institutionalized and industrial racism on the one hand and the white embrace of Jim Crow on the other. Cicero M. Fain III illuminates the unique cultural identity and dynamic sense of accomplishment and purpose that transformed African American life in Huntington. Using interviews and untapped archival materials, Fain details the rise and consolidation of the black working class as it pursued, then fulfilled, its aspirations. He also reveals how African Americans developed a host of strategies—strong kin and social networks, institutional development, property ownership, and legal challenges—to defend their gains in the face of the white status quo. Eye-opening and eloquent, Black Huntington makes visible another facet of the African American experience in Appalachia.

| Cover Title Copyright Contents Preface Acknowledgments Chapter 1. The African American Experience in Cabell County, Virginia / West Virginia, 1825–1870 Chapter 2. The "Grapevine Telegraph": Post-Emancipation Black Community and Early Black Migrant Influx, 1865-1871 Chapter 3. Into the Crucible: The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad and the Black Industrial Worker, 1870 Chapter 4. Community, Race, and Class: Black Settlement Patterns, 1871–Early 1900s Chapter 5. Institutional Development, Public Space, and Political Aspiration in Early Huntington, 1870-Early 1900s Chapter 6. Spreading Our Wings: Afro-Huntingtonian Progress during the Era of "Benevolent Segregation" Appendix A. Virginia Slave Totals, 1860 Appendix B. Occupational Statistics for Huntington's African American Population Notes Bibliography Index |"The research behind Black Huntington is impressive. . . . [It] tells an important story. " —Journal of Appalachian Studies
"An unprecedented depiction of black life in a city of northern Appalachia." —Journal of American History
"This most welcome study provides great insights into the urban experience of Affrilachians. It is highly recommended for collections in African American studies, Appalachian studies, civil rights, and urban studies. . . . Highly recommended." —Choice
|Cicero M. Fain III is a professor of history at the College of Southern Maryland.