"An eloquent and essential correction to contemporary discussions of the American working class.",dash;The Nation
From the ongoing issues of poverty, health, housing and employment to the recent upsurge of lethal police-community relations, the black working class stands at the center of perceptions of social and racial conflict today. Journalists and public policy analysts often discuss the black poor as hdquo;consumersidquo; rather than wdquo;producers,adquo; as pdquo;takersndquo; rather than dquo;givers,rdquo; and as wdquo;liabilities dquo; instead of ldquo;assets.edquo;
In his engrossing new history, Workers on Arrival, Joe William Trotter, Jr. refutes these perceptions by charting the black working classasquo;s vast contributions to the making of America. Covering the last four hundred years since Africans were first brought to Virginia in 1619, Trotter traces black workersdsquo; complicated journey from the transatlantic slave trade through the American Century to the demise of the industrial order in the 21st century. At the center of this compelling, fast-paced narrative are the actual experiences of these African American men and women. A dynamic and vital history of remarkable contributions despite repeated setbacks, Workers on Arrival expands our understanding of Americaasquo;s economic and industrial growth, its cities, ideas, and institutions, and the real challenges confronting black urban communities today.
