Manning Marable in His Book

Manning Marable

In his book Race, Reform and Rebellion, Manning Marable takes readers on an informative trip back in time to witness the lives of blacks in America from the end of World II to 1982, or what he calls the Second Reconstruction. He then sets the stage for what he calls the Third Reconstruction, or the transfer of power to the working class.

To set a foundation and educate readers, most who are not knowledgeable about this historic period, Marable uses his Prologue to review the First Reconstruction in 1867, where the defeated South was divided into five military districts, and its impact on the black people. Marable notes that some progress was made during this time:

Reconstruction produced major changes in the social status of blacks. The Federal government launched the Freedman's Bureau, which provided food and clothing to millions. The Bureau opened 46 hospitals for blacks across the states. By 1870, its educational institutions claimed one-quarter of a million students and almost 10,000 instructors.

For example, this noted educational enhancement noted above formed the future of several black universities that significantly impacted the black communities of the South's future.

Each of the chapters of Marable's book chronicles a different time period of the black experience. The second chapter, for instance, relates what happened directly after WWII. Blacks were hesitant about what the coming years would bring, considering the ambiguity of President Roosevelt's previous civil rights decisions or lack thereof. Despite the fact that 3 million blacks registered for the war, they still served in segregated military units. Meanwhile, blacks remaining in the U.S. were drafted onto the assembly lines, which raised racial concerns by white workers. In the 1940s, blacks made inroads into state and federal governments with elections and appointments. Education also improved considerably, as did labor with the median income of nonwhite wage- and salary-earners rising from 41 to 60%. In addition, the black voter was no longer being taken for granted. Politically, new biracial groups were being formed, such as the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), which relied on non-violent means for change.

However, by the 1950s, progress toward civil rights was slowing down, as voting numbers peaked and vigilantism increased. CORE collapsed due to its fringe affiliation with socialist groups and the growing Red scare of the Cold War. In 1946, the South became agriculturally mechanized: Many jobs were lost, and larger numbers of blacks moved to the North. As a result, ghettos and unemployment worsened into the mid-1950s. The election of President Eisenhower began setting the stage for what Marable calls the "Second Reconstruction."

At the end of the 1950s, the growing civil rights movement was negatively countered by the lack of support by the Eisenhower administration and labor groups, as well as the increase in white supremacism, "a fever of rebellion and malaise of fear." In addition, the nation saw the rise of such black leaders as Malcolm X and groups as the Nation of Islam.

The Second Reconstruction began in earnest February 1, 1960, as four black college students refused to leave a "white's only" lunch counter at a dime store in North Carolina. Next, came numerous political sit-ins, the resurrection of CORE, the renewed efforts of the NAACP. In addition, black ministers throughout the country, such as Martin Luther King, Jr., joined the struggle, and protests such as freedom rides increased significantly. The decade culminated under President Johnson with the Civil Rights Bill of 1964 outlawing Jim Crow in all states of the nation. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 continued the momentum by drastically increasing the numbers of black voters.

All this renewed strength of the civil rights movement led once again to increased vigilantism. It was not long before black activists began to see the limits of reform. Individuals such as Stokely Carmichael became a voice for black nationalism. Many blacks began saying, "no more compromises, no more betrayals by Negro moderates."

By 1967, Black Power had become the dominant ideology of black youth as well as many individuals in the working and middle classes. King's assassination confirmed the growing nationalistic belief against nonviolence. The greatest challenge came from the Black Panther Party and its ten-point program of radical reform. The U.S. government were alarmed by these demands, and agencies such as the FBI stepped up their targeting of radical black groups.

In Chapter 6, Marable analyzes the political status and labor movements of this time. He emphasizes the lack of support for the full incorporation of black laborers -- the American Federation of Teachers, for example, opposed the establishment of affirmative action programs to regulate fairness in the labor market. The Longshoresman's Association nixed equal status of black members, and the Operating Engineers Union imposed physical violence on black graduates of their apprenticeship program and therefore blocked participation of blacks in unions.

In Chapter 7, Marable explains how the success of the Second Reconstruction went hand-in-hand with failure. Socio-economic gains made over the past three decades for a small number of blacks, also brought increased poverty for much larger numbers remaining in the inner cities. It is here that Marable clearly shows how blacks reached their problems of today. In the mid-1970s, there arose a small group of what he calls the black elite who were in relatively good economic positions. Many of these individuals fled to the suburbs and white schools and professions, which put a strain on the black institutions. As the elite advanced, other blacks remained the same or declined socio-economically while remaining in the cities. U.S. black crime rose due to unemployment and other socio-economic problems, and the courts began taking a much firmer stand in urban areas: The ever-increasing rise of black inmates began with a flourish. With high psychological stress and socio-economic problems, black families began to disintegrate. President Carter's weak support of civil liberties led to further problems. If not enough, white supremacy again raised its ugly head. Finally, the election of President Reagan continued the backward slip for blacks and other repressed minorities.

In his epilogue, Marable concludes: "American history has repeated itself, in regard to its interpretation of the pursuit of biracial democracy: the fist time as tragedy, the second time as catastrophe. In the aftermath of the First Reconstruction, white American historians attempted to portray the democratic experiment of 1965-77 as a complete disaster." After the Second Reconstruction, a similar process of historical revisionism took place -- led by President Reagan, who attempted to undermine the last vestiges of institutional equality.