I Will Wear No Chain!

A Social History of African American Males

Christopher B. Booker

• Publisher: Praeger
• Year: 2000
• Print ISBN: 9780275956370
• eBook ISBN: 9780313095122
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

This volume traces the social history of African American men from the days of slavery to the present, focusing on their achievements, their changing image, and their role in American society. The author places the contemporary issue of Black men's disproportionate involvement with criminal justice within its social and historical context, while analyzing the most significant movements aiming to improve the status of Blacks in our society. The book's main thesis is that an ever-changing, yet ever-present, process of criminalization has entrapped Black men throughout history, thus creating a major barrier to their collective development. The topics discussed include the role of Blacks in the Civil War, Booker T. Washington, the Civil Rights movement, and the Million Man March.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Introduction
• 1. Slavery and the Development of Black Masculinity, 1619–1860
• 2. The Context of Black Masculine Development during the Antebellum Era
• 3. The Development of African American Masculinity among Free Black Males, 1619–1861
• 4. The Civil War and the Black Male
• 5. African American Males and the Challenge of Emancipation, 1865–1895
• 6. Booker T. Washington, Accommodationism. and Black Masculinity
• 7. Black Males, Race Riots, and the Scourge of Lynching
• 8. Marcus Garvey and the New Negro Man
• 9. The Emergence of the Urban Black Male: Increasing Black Power, 1945–1972
• 10. African American Males in Contemporary Society, 1972–Present
• Bibliography
• Index