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Race, Reform, and Rebellion: The Second Reconstruction and Beyond in Black America, 1945-2006, Third Edition
Since its original publication in 1984, Manning Marable's Race, Reform, and Rebellion has become widely known as the most crucial political and social history of African Americans since World War II. Aimed at students of contemporary American politics and society and written by one of the most articulate and eloquent authorities on the movement for black freedom, this acclaimed study traces the divergent elements of political, social, and moral reform in nonwhite America since 1945. This third edition brings Marable's study into the twenty-first century, analyzing the effects of such factors as black neoconservatism, welfare reform, the Million Man March, the mainstreaming of hip-hop culture, 9/11, and Hurricane Katrina. Marable's work, brought into the present, remains one of the most dramatic, well-conceived, and provocative histories of the struggle for African American civil rights and equality. Through the 1950s and 1960s, Marable follows the emergence of a powerful black working class, the successful effort to abolish racial segregation, the outbreak of Black Power, urban rebellion, and the renaissance of Black Nationalism. He explores the increased participation of blacks and other ethnic groups in governmental systems and the white reaction during the period he terms the Second Reconstruction. Race, Reform, and Rebellion illustrates how poverty, illegal drugs, unemployment, and a deteriorating urban infrastructure hammered the African American community in the 1980s and early 1990s.
320 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1984
About the author
Manning Marable
99 books201 followersManning Marable was an American professor of public affairs, history and African-American Studies at Columbia University. He founded and directed the Institute for Research in African-American Studies. He authored several texts and was active in progressive political causes. At the time of his death, he had completed a biography of human rights activist Malcolm X, entitled Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 18, 2011
I am currently re-reading this book. Marable reframes the World War II era through Civil Rights, all the way up to the George Bush Era as a Second Reconstruction. First of all, this revelation is revolutionary. It was a reconstruction, with America trying to figure out how to deal once again with the "Negro" problem. However, this time, the Negro/ African American population was able to exert much more political, economic, and social power and frame its own vision and goals.
Marable recognizes that history never repeats itself except in our imaginations, but in the preface, he states: "Despite a series of successive legislative and judicial victories, the burden of racial inequality continued to weigh most heavily upon black Americans".
Marable's book offers new perspectives on African American and American history, race relations, and in the Obama era of "post-racialism", he offers a new lens for us to reconsider the remaining race problem in America: the fact that racial disparities are still very much alive and deeply seated in our culture. However, Marable's vision is one of hope. He understands that progress has been made and that progress is a slow process. Rather than complaining, Marable's text is more of a call to action. For this reason, and to honor this great scholar of American history, I'm re-reading this text to get deeper into the thought process of Marable. I invite you to join me.
Marable recognizes that history never repeats itself except in our imaginations, but in the preface, he states: "Despite a series of successive legislative and judicial victories, the burden of racial inequality continued to weigh most heavily upon black Americans".
Marable's book offers new perspectives on African American and American history, race relations, and in the Obama era of "post-racialism", he offers a new lens for us to reconsider the remaining race problem in America: the fact that racial disparities are still very much alive and deeply seated in our culture. However, Marable's vision is one of hope. He understands that progress has been made and that progress is a slow process. Rather than complaining, Marable's text is more of a call to action. For this reason, and to honor this great scholar of American history, I'm re-reading this text to get deeper into the thought process of Marable. I invite you to join me.
April 14, 2018
Super eye-opening. Very dense (it took me forever to get through all of it) but incredibly enlightening. Hard to tell if the anti-capitalist bent is excessive bias or just the truth -- can capitalism coexist with racial equality? I don't think so, but I still felt like Marable was a little heavy-handed in his emphasis on socialist or communist activism. Also, would've enjoyed a little more on black feminism/womanism/intersectionality, but otherwise found this book invaluable.
February 16, 2021
This is the best book on the Civil Rights Movement and its aftermath I've ever read. It's a look at the history of what Marable calls the Second Reconstruction, which he also calls the black freedom struggle. It's a well-researched, readable account that pays mind to the intersection of race, class, and militarism.
An interesting way Marable frames the civil rights movement is as a second Reconstruction. He sees it as a spiritual successor to the first Reconstruction after the Civil War. It's an interesting way to look at it that puts the civil rights movement into a wider historical context.
Like I said above, this is a history that is intersectional. In other words, it doesn't look at the black community as a monolith. It distinguishes between the black middle class, working class, and poor, which helps add extra depth to his account. Ways in which each group could and did contribute are spelled out. He also has some info specifically on black women's role in the movement and the black feminism that would come after, which is nice.
Marable is a scholar-activist who clearly cares deep about his subject matter. I cannot recommend this book enough.
An interesting way Marable frames the civil rights movement is as a second Reconstruction. He sees it as a spiritual successor to the first Reconstruction after the Civil War. It's an interesting way to look at it that puts the civil rights movement into a wider historical context.
Like I said above, this is a history that is intersectional. In other words, it doesn't look at the black community as a monolith. It distinguishes between the black middle class, working class, and poor, which helps add extra depth to his account. Ways in which each group could and did contribute are spelled out. He also has some info specifically on black women's role in the movement and the black feminism that would come after, which is nice.
Marable is a scholar-activist who clearly cares deep about his subject matter. I cannot recommend this book enough.
July 23, 2013
Fairly spectacular book which not only covered the strengths and faults of well known names like MLK jr., Malcom X, Medgar Evars and Rosa Parks but also more revered radical stalwarts like Huey P. Newton and other leaders of the black power movement and the great weaknesses of many leaders who focused to wholly on race to the detriment of gender or patriarchy considerations or class while refusing to admit race as a factor and as a result highlighting the reality of a modern organizer who lives in a inter-sectional reality that refuses o disconnect the struggles of women, people of color, trans people and people from each other. Encouraging to read something so connected from 1990. Points for covering the American Indian Movement (AIM) and a good part of the Latino farm workers movement and for pointing out the misogyny of leaders who only wanted to focus on race and the racism of leaders who chose to focus only on class.
June 27, 2026
One of the best books I've read so far this year. Manning reframes the civil rights era as a kind of "Second Reconstruction", echoing the first Black Reconstruction era 1865-1877. It's made me want to read more about the first Reconstruction era, so I'm now reading WEB du Bois seminal book on it.
The underlying thesis of the book is basically summed up towards the end "Four pivotal factors explained the rapid collapse of the Jim Crow system during the 1950s and 1960s: (1) the outbreak of the Cold War between the United State and the Soviet Union, which resulted in internationl pressures for American governments to abandon support for their undemocratic and irrational policies of racial domination; (2) the independence from European colonial rule of Caribbean and African states whose people were connected with Americans of African descent by ethnicity, culture, and a common heritage of political and economic struggle against system of exploitation; (3) the great migration of five million African-American sharecroppers and working people from the South into the urban ghettoes of the Midwest and Northeast between 1040 and 1970, a migration that transformed the political character of urban society and deeply influenced the patterns of American popular culture, sports, education and social relations; and (4) most important, the growth of local activists, that used the non-violent, direct-action protest techniques of Mohandas Ghandi's satyagraha." (pg 213)
Others in their reviews have remarked that the book is dense. I didn't find it dense in a difficult way, it obviously manages to give a good level of depth and remain succinct - it's on 230 pages. I found it very readable and free from unnecessary jargon.
He had, for me, for some incredibly insightful points that I want to explore more.
1) The impact of McCarthyism and anti-communism on the black civil rights movement that was to follow. The reaction from black leaders in the NAACP and CORE was to distance themselves from socialists who would have been some of the best fighters for racial equality. "In the face of growing racist opposition, the NAACP counselled continued reliance upon the Truman Administration, legal challenges to segregation laws, and a general policy which spurned direct action. The failure and tragedy of this conservative approach to social change was in its parochial vision and tacit acceptance of the Cold War politics. By refusing to work with Marxists, the NAACP lost the most principle anti-racist organizers and activists... The anti-communist impulse even affected CORE, to its detriment. A few CORE chapters, in Columbus, Ohio, and Chicago, encouraged Marxist participation in the early 1940s. In 1949, however, when Trotskyists joined the San Francisco chapter, the national office voided its affiliation. In 1948, Houser and CORE's executive committee drafted a "Statement on Communism," which was passed unanimously by its convention that year. CORE denounced any ties with "Communist-controlled" groups, and CORE members were ordered not to co-operate or work with so-called communist-front organizations". Marable goes on to note how even this attempt to see off accusations of communism, had little effect and that by the mid 1950s "CORE had all but ceased to exist as an organisation".
Unfortunately there is not much exploration of the poor politics of Moscow-aligned Communist Parties of the time and the way in which that and other Stalinist and later Maoist influenced leftwing politics disoriented much of the left including anti-racist movement. However, Marable's insight on the McCarthy era anti-communism provides a good explanation of how later anti-racist movements had the conservatism that they did.
2) Post-civil rights, Marable looks at the various black nationlist and black power movements, and brings out the limitations and criticisms of them from the left. Marable draws a parallel with this and the intellectual and more reactionary movements within the black liberation struggle that came about in the later year of the first Black Reconstruction era. He doesn't expand on this in the book, but will be something that I would like to explore more.
The underlying thesis of the book is basically summed up towards the end "Four pivotal factors explained the rapid collapse of the Jim Crow system during the 1950s and 1960s: (1) the outbreak of the Cold War between the United State and the Soviet Union, which resulted in internationl pressures for American governments to abandon support for their undemocratic and irrational policies of racial domination; (2) the independence from European colonial rule of Caribbean and African states whose people were connected with Americans of African descent by ethnicity, culture, and a common heritage of political and economic struggle against system of exploitation; (3) the great migration of five million African-American sharecroppers and working people from the South into the urban ghettoes of the Midwest and Northeast between 1040 and 1970, a migration that transformed the political character of urban society and deeply influenced the patterns of American popular culture, sports, education and social relations; and (4) most important, the growth of local activists, that used the non-violent, direct-action protest techniques of Mohandas Ghandi's satyagraha." (pg 213)
Others in their reviews have remarked that the book is dense. I didn't find it dense in a difficult way, it obviously manages to give a good level of depth and remain succinct - it's on 230 pages. I found it very readable and free from unnecessary jargon.
He had, for me, for some incredibly insightful points that I want to explore more.
1) The impact of McCarthyism and anti-communism on the black civil rights movement that was to follow. The reaction from black leaders in the NAACP and CORE was to distance themselves from socialists who would have been some of the best fighters for racial equality. "In the face of growing racist opposition, the NAACP counselled continued reliance upon the Truman Administration, legal challenges to segregation laws, and a general policy which spurned direct action. The failure and tragedy of this conservative approach to social change was in its parochial vision and tacit acceptance of the Cold War politics. By refusing to work with Marxists, the NAACP lost the most principle anti-racist organizers and activists... The anti-communist impulse even affected CORE, to its detriment. A few CORE chapters, in Columbus, Ohio, and Chicago, encouraged Marxist participation in the early 1940s. In 1949, however, when Trotskyists joined the San Francisco chapter, the national office voided its affiliation. In 1948, Houser and CORE's executive committee drafted a "Statement on Communism," which was passed unanimously by its convention that year. CORE denounced any ties with "Communist-controlled" groups, and CORE members were ordered not to co-operate or work with so-called communist-front organizations". Marable goes on to note how even this attempt to see off accusations of communism, had little effect and that by the mid 1950s "CORE had all but ceased to exist as an organisation".
Unfortunately there is not much exploration of the poor politics of Moscow-aligned Communist Parties of the time and the way in which that and other Stalinist and later Maoist influenced leftwing politics disoriented much of the left including anti-racist movement. However, Marable's insight on the McCarthy era anti-communism provides a good explanation of how later anti-racist movements had the conservatism that they did.
2) Post-civil rights, Marable looks at the various black nationlist and black power movements, and brings out the limitations and criticisms of them from the left. Marable draws a parallel with this and the intellectual and more reactionary movements within the black liberation struggle that came about in the later year of the first Black Reconstruction era. He doesn't expand on this in the book, but will be something that I would like to explore more.
April 14, 2021
This is a great overview of the civil rights movement era. If you are looking for a book that grapples with all the major figures and events from the freedom struggles of the mid to late twentieth century, and does so through the critical lens of democratic socialism, this is that book. Marable praises the directions both Malcolm X and MLK were headed before their assassinations, while also taking the movement to task for relying on top down leadership from charismatic individuals. He empathizes with the most radical currents in the movement while also highlighting the destructive and conservative tendencies of black nationalism. He juxtaposes the black struggle for freedom, democracy, and economic justice with the hesitancy of the black upper class and the often violent reactions of white supremacy. All in all, Marable shows how the successes of the “second reconstruction” were mostly rolled back or neutralized in the subsequent decades, but that there always remains a path forward for the next great reconstruction of American society.
April 13, 2021
Picked this book up years ago, and never picked it up. I had largely purchased it because I had read a bit about the controversy surrounding the author's biography of Malcolm X (another book I own, but have not read), but this is a special book. That reframes the Civil Rights Movement in important ways that really have me excited to read more in the historical "classics" of the era.
With a focus on economics and the relationship to the labor movement, Marable provides a broad ranging, survey of the Civil Rights Movement, its formation, and its aftermath. He is unsentimental, but not cold. There is a sense of historical objectivity and something deeply personal. It's a very good book that could be read several times or used as a set text or a course. There is a third edition that carries the story up to 2006. It's on my list now. Highly Recommended.
With a focus on economics and the relationship to the labor movement, Marable provides a broad ranging, survey of the Civil Rights Movement, its formation, and its aftermath. He is unsentimental, but not cold. There is a sense of historical objectivity and something deeply personal. It's a very good book that could be read several times or used as a set text or a course. There is a third edition that carries the story up to 2006. It's on my list now. Highly Recommended.
January 2, 2021
Pretty dense but very comprehensive history of black American political and social movements in the 20th century. My main takeaway is that many things have stayed the same throughout the last century (historic uprisings followed by white backlash, battles between moderates and radical organizers, politicians making symbolic but mostly useless gestures towards anti racism).
March 17, 2022
must read for his contextualizing of post-1965 black political/social life
March 13, 2008
Marable does not fail to impress his audience with this work that sheds much light on the events and movements that helped to socially and politically shape the period known as the second reconstruction in African-American history, as well as those that contributed to its failure.
July 1, 2007
A polemic to be sure, but nevertheless compelling.
July 6, 2010
This book exemplifies the brilliance that is Manning Marable.
June 2, 2013
Manning marble can write yo. Really well put together book. Basically Reagan is satan.
January 18, 2016
A must read for anyone who is not an expert in post-World War II race relations in the United States.
February 26, 2016
Quintessential reading for those who want a hand understanding how our nation both accepted and rejected the liberal aims of the Civil Rights Movement. Marable is masterful.
August 12, 2023
I learned so much from this and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about Black struggle in the postwar era (which everyone should!). It is extremely comprehensive and covers a lot of ground, but is eminently readable. My one gripe with it is that it largely considers history from the particular standpoint of Black identity, which starting in the late '60s leaves Marable somewhat rudderless as he struggles to analyze the class politics behind neoliberal economics and mass incarceration, and the process by which liberal rights absorbed the Black challenge to the state by constructing a reified racial identity hitched to the redress of racially particular injuries -- his takes on affirmative action policies and reparations proposals are quite uncritical, as opposed to other scholars like the Fields sisters in Racecraft: The Soul of Inequality in American Life. This leaves Marable lacking compared to Du Bois, whose work on Reconstruction this book consciously takes after -- "Race, Reform, and Rebellion" presents the history of its period as an arc of rise and fall of one particular historical subject, rather than a dialectical struggle between racial and class forces, as DuBois did for the "first" Reconstruction.
But matching Du Bois is an impossibly tall order in the first place, and this remains an excellent book. You will come away with it understanding that it is impossible to understand the last ~80 years in America without a recognition of the centrality of race, and knowing the key names, places, and events in this key historical arc.
But matching Du Bois is an impossibly tall order in the first place, and this remains an excellent book. You will come away with it understanding that it is impossible to understand the last ~80 years in America without a recognition of the centrality of race, and knowing the key names, places, and events in this key historical arc.
May 5, 2024
I have read books about MLK, Bayard Rustin, Thurgood Marshall, and others. I’ve read about Freedom Riders, SNCC, NAACP, Black Panthers and other groups. This book gives a timeline and ties together these various elements of what the author calls “The Second Reconstruction”.
It gives some better insights into the weaknesses of and conflicts between individuals and groups in the civil rights movement that might not be as clear in focused biographies or histories of the individual or groups.
I learned some things about the failures of Jimmy Carter and other democrats to address the needs of the ooor and minority groups. The discussion of Reagan and Bush era active reversal of civil rights gains is familiar and depressing to revisit.
It’s a good book and, for the most part in an engaging read. There are sections of the second half that provide long stretches of statistics, which are important and enlightening, but become very dry and textbookish.
I got this book from the library, which had only the second edition. There is a third edition with further updates that I have requested my library to order so I can see what additional info there is.
The author makes it clear that he is a democratic socialist so to some extent the reader needs to be aware of that lens but I believe it’s a pretty objective and fair book.
Unfortunately the author died in 2011 at only 61, so there will be no further addition looking at the Obama era.
Three stars, good not great, but I’m glad I read it and I recommend it.
It gives some better insights into the weaknesses of and conflicts between individuals and groups in the civil rights movement that might not be as clear in focused biographies or histories of the individual or groups.
I learned some things about the failures of Jimmy Carter and other democrats to address the needs of the ooor and minority groups. The discussion of Reagan and Bush era active reversal of civil rights gains is familiar and depressing to revisit.
It’s a good book and, for the most part in an engaging read. There are sections of the second half that provide long stretches of statistics, which are important and enlightening, but become very dry and textbookish.
I got this book from the library, which had only the second edition. There is a third edition with further updates that I have requested my library to order so I can see what additional info there is.
The author makes it clear that he is a democratic socialist so to some extent the reader needs to be aware of that lens but I believe it’s a pretty objective and fair book.
Unfortunately the author died in 2011 at only 61, so there will be no further addition looking at the Obama era.
Three stars, good not great, but I’m glad I read it and I recommend it.
February 2, 2021
I was hoping for more analysis and less straight up-and-down history, but this is one hell of a book anyway. I learned a lot of history of the civil rights struggle, and Marable's socialist lens really highlights the way class and race are intertwined.
October 15, 2020
Better than an Instagram power point
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Book purchased based on this article: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/07/ma...
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Book purchased based on this article: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/07/ma...
January 6, 2021
3.5 stars. This was assigned reading for me during my undergraduate African American Studies class that, at 20 y/o, young, dumb college student didn't read and wish I had. If you can get past several misspellings and the density of the subject matter, it's not a bad read. It should certainly provide the reader with some enlightenment.
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