Rise and Fall of Jim Crow

In light of recent Congressional turmoil, this measured, and sometimes chilling, guide to the PBS series of the same name could not be more timely. Wormser, a television producer and writer, provides an illuminating, succinct history of racial discrimination in the U.S., especially in the South. The book begins in 1865 at the end of the Civil War and concludes in 1954 with Brown v. Board of Education and the integration of public schools. To emphasize the tremendous obstacles African-Americans had to face in the U.S.--lynchings, substandard schools, chain gangs, low or no pay--Wormser uses personal narratives of slaves and freeman as well as the work of iconic African-American figures, such as Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells and Thurgood Marshall. Likewise, the positions of middle-class and well-known white segregationists--Strom Thurmond, the KKK, Andrew Johnson--are also documented. Wormser concludes that, ""though Jim Crow is no longer codified in the laws, and the racial climate has decidedly improved, white supremacy is still a vital part of the American psyche."" A stark account of race politics in America, this book provides an indispensable backdrop for understanding the present political scene, especially for younger readers. Songs and 80 b&w photos.