James and Esther Cooper Jackson
Love and Courage in the Black Freedom Movement
1 of 1 copy available
Growing up in Virginia during the Great Depression, James E. Jackson and Esther Cooper Jackson understood that opportunities came differently for blacks and whites, men and women, rich and poor. They devoted their lives to the black freedom movement and saw a path to racial equality through the Communist Party. This political affiliation would come to define not only their activism but also the course of their marriage as the Cold War years unfolded.
In this dual biography, Sara Rzeszutek examines the couple's political involvement as well as the evolution of their personal and public lives in the face of ever-shifting contexts. She documents the Jacksons' contributions to the early civil rights movement, discussing their time leading the Southern Negro Youth Congress, which laid the groundwork for youth activists in the 1960s; their writings in periodicals such as Political Affairs; and their editorial involvement in The Worker and the civil rights magazine Freedomways.
Drawing upon correspondence, organizational literature, and interviews with the Jacksons themselves, Haviland presents a portrait of a remarkable pair who lived during a transformative period of American history. Their story offers a vital narrative of persistence, love, and activism across the long arc of the black freedom movement.
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Creators
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Series
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Publisher
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Release date
June 29, 2021 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780813166261
- File size: 2432 KB
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780813166261
- File size: 2990 KB
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Open EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780813166261
- File size: 2439 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Starred review from October 1, 2015
Haviland (history, St. Francis Coll.) has written a duel biography on James E. Jackson (1914-2007) and his wife, Esther Cooper (b. 1917), freedom fighters who helped birth the civil rights movement. The couple met while working in the Southern Negro Youth Congress and later as members of the American Communist Party and were key figures in the struggle for racial and economic equality during the Cold War. Haviland's accessible history examines the strains of early 20th-century communism that influenced mid-century thinking about civil rights. Seven chapters follow the couple from the Great Depression through World War II, in which James served in a segregated military, to the Cold War and their work on magazines including Freedomways. The author draws upon the rich archive of the couple's correspondence during wartime and the McCarthy investigations that hounded James, as well as interviews and organizational literature, ultimately presenting two people who gleaned strength from each other to fight social injustice on several fronts. VERDICT Haviland's use of personal correspondence brings this important period of history to life and shows the cost of those who worked in the black freedom movement. Highly recommended.--John Rodzvilla, Emerson Coll., Boston
Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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November 1, 2015
In this biography of activist couple James and Esther Cooper Jackson, Haviland (history, St. Francis Coll.) details their lives in the early civil rights movement and their attraction to communism. (LJ 10/1/15)
Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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