To Place Our Deeds: The African American Community in Richmond, California, 1910-1963

by Shirley Ann Wilson Moore

To Place Our Deeds traces the development of the African American community in Richmond, California, a city on the San Francisco Bay. This readable, extremely well-researched social history, based on numerous oral histories, newspapers, and archival collections, is the first to examine the historical development of one black working-class community over a fifty-year period.

Offering a gritty and engaging view of daily life in Richmond, Shirley Ann Wilson Moore examines the process and effect of migration, the rise of a black urban industrial workforce, and the dynamics of community development. She describes the culture that migrants brought with them―including music, food, religion, and sports―and shows how these traditions were adapted to new circumstances. Working-class African Americans in Richmond used their cultural venues―especially the city's legendary blues clubs―as staging grounds from which to challenge the racial status quo, with a steadfast determination not to be "Jim Crowed" in the Golden State.

As this important work shows, working-class African Americans often stood at the forefront of the struggle for equality and were linked to larger political, social, and cultural currents that transformed the nation in the postwar period.

Genres: History, Cultural Studies, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 5, 2000

Reviews

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished 2 books this week. The first is "To Place Our Deeds," by my friend, Shirley Ann Wilson Moore. She explores the transformation of the city of Richmond from a sleepy, integrated, agrarian community to a bustling WWII hotbed of activity. I've been to Richmond a few times (usually on BART and Amtrak), and I had no idea about Richmondites civil rights work waaaaay before the civil rights movement took off around the country. An excellent read!

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A surprisingly engaging scholarly work. Illuminates the challenges of one of the most unique cities in America in the 20th century. Very well done.

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for a California History course. I loved it. So informative about how the Bay Area was shaped by the war, segregation, migration, etc. I reference this book and things I learned from it in coversation all the time about the history of the Bay Area.