Books by James Smethurst

The New Red Negro: The Literary Left and African American Poetry / Radicalism in the South Since Reconstruction

The Black Arts Movement

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Radicalism in the South Since Reconstruction

Edited by Chris Green, Rachel Rubin, and James Smethurst

Reviews

This book broadly frames the scholarly conversation about southern radicalism, putting essays covering a range of historical periods and topics in dialogue with each other so as to get a sense of the range of southern politics and history.

— Palgrave Macmillan

“A welcome contribution to the growing body of revisionist scholarship influenced by postmodernism. The multidisciplinary essays do not belong to the traditional schools of either consensus or conflict history, but rather adopt the perspective of diversity without boundaries. Focusing on diversity within the region, they challenge the conventional notion of a South unified by reactionary ideology…As these essays clearly show, American history was changed by homegrown southern radicals who dared to dream and become the missionaries for a new social order.”

—Ronald L. Lewis, Stuart and Joyce Robbins Chair in History, West Virginia University
 
“A stunning, dazzling and, ultimately, insightful collection of essays which reaffirms the simple fact that those who wish to understand the U.S. must understand the U.S. South—and those who wish to understand the U.S. South must read this book.”

—Gerald Horne, author of Black and Brown:  African-Americans and the Mexican Revolution, 1910-1920 
 
"This book uncovers some lost history of radical political activity in the South, dispelling the image of the South as conservative, provincial and unconcerned with the problems of poverty, inequality, unemployment which plagued the region. Thanks to Smethurst, Green, and Rubin for disturbing our ideas of the South and adding to our knowledge of Southern politics and history."

—Helen Matthews Lewis, author of Mountain Sisters: From Convent to Community in Appalachia
 
“Radicalism in the South is a scintillating blend of historical narrative, biography, reminiscence, primary materials, cultural studies, and literary criticism. By thoughtfully combining fresh source materials and perspectives, the volume presents the political and cultural terrain of the post-Reconstruction South as we have seldom seen it—from the angle of labor, the Left, cultural workers, anti-racist activists, and more. The result is an indispensable addition to the growing collection of works that encourage the reconsideration of a region too often shrouded in clichés and myths.”

—Alan Wald, Professor, Program in American Culture, University of Michigan, and author of Trinity of Passion: The U.S. Literary Left and the Anti-fascist Crusade

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James Smethurst is Associate Professor of History and Afro-American Studies in the W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies, University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Rachel Rubin is Associate Professor of American Studies, University of Massachusetts-Boston. Chris Green is Assistant Professor of English, Marshall University.