The Challengers: Untold Stories of African Americans Who Changed the System in One Small Southern Municipality
- ISBN-10
- 069260698X
- ISBN-13
- 9780692606988
- Series
- The Challengers
- Category
- African American politicians
- Pages
- 160
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2016-02-17
- Author
- Elmer Beard
Description
The Challengers features the 63 black residents who sought public office in Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas. The book introduces the candidates and discusses the conditions of which they filed, ran, lost, and won from 1954-2010. The Challengers reveals how the changing forms of government and the systems of voting directly impacted the electoral process in the black community. Through lawsuits, activism, and political participation, these candidates fought for their voices to be heard. Hot Springs is the town where former president Bill Clinton launched his political career and developed an abiding relationship with the African American electorate. These stories, encapsulated here for the first time, begin with the behind-the-scenes account of how a black man won a citywide election at a time when voting rights were under attack during the Jim Crow era. The story emerges in the modern era with barrier-breaking profiles of the first African American mayor of Hot Springs and the first African American Hot Springs School Superintendent. Presented by the NAACP Writing Project in Hot Springs, this book can serve as a model for local NAACP chapters throughout the nation. Now other civic organizations and civil rights groups are challenged to document the black political history in their municipalities. This project was made possible in part by contributions from the Clinton Family Foundation, the Arkansas Humanities Council, the Arkansas Black History Commission, and the Oaklawn Scholarship Foundation. "This indispensable book tells the story of Hot Springs' African American community through its political aspirations from 1954-2010, a story that has never before been documented. Elmer Beard and the NAACP Writing Project Committee of NAACP Branch #6013 deserve the highest accolades for their exhaustive research and for their commitment to preserving the stories of the remarkable men and women in this book." Elizabeth Robbins, Executive Director, Garland County Historical Society "I commend the NAACP Writing Project Committee for its extraordinary effort in preserving the history of African American involvement in the political process in the Spa City. This book demonstrates the courage of ordinary people who were determined to make a positive difference in the Hot Springs community. It's a treasure of information which I hope inspires greater participation in the political process by all people." Darrin L. Williams, CEO, Southern Bancorp "Elmer Beard's study of African American candidates for public office in Hot Springs and Garland County is a must read for students of local history and politics. With painstaking research he describes the political efforts of 63 African Americans who both won and lost contests over a period of more than a half century. On a personal note, the African American community gave me strong support in my elections for county judge, and I am happy to read about some of my friends in this book." Larry Williams, Garland County Judge 1995-2010 " This] provides an engaging look into the sociopolitical landscape of the City of Hot Springs, Arkansas, as it grapples with tense race relations before and after Jim Crow. At times humorous, other times tragic, but ultimately inspiring, this firsthand account underscores the importance of the continuing work of racial equality and social justice both locally and nationally." Minister Marsalis Weatherspoon, Hot Springs, Arkansas
Get the book
Other editions
Similar books
-
Reminiscences of an Active Life: The Autobiography of John Roy Lynch
By John Hope Franklin, John Roy LynchRhodes to Myers, Boston, 29 March 1914, in john A. Garraty, ed., The Barber and the Historian: The Correspondence of George A. Myers and lame: Ford Rhodes, 1910-1923 (Columbus, 1956), pp. 29-30. [xxxiii] Introduction.
-
Black Politicians and Reconstruction in Georgia: A Splendid Failure
By Edmund L. DragoFor the present edition, Drago has included a new preface about recent writing on Reconstruction, and has added an appendix containing new data on locally elected or appointed black politicians. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc.
-
Condoleezza Rice: Naked Ambition
By Marcus MabryThis is an authorised biography of Condoleezza Rice, based on interviews with this powerful woman. Condoleezza Rice became the first black woman with the title US Secretary of State in a government dominated by rich white Republicans.
-
After Freedom Summer: How Race Realigned Mississippi Politics, 1965-1986
By Chris DanielsonAs such, the book is exceptionally powerful."--Journal of Southern History "A brilliant history of black politics and white resistance in post-civil rights era Mississippi.
-
Blacks in Power: A Comparative Study of Black and White Elected Officials
By Leonard A. ColeThis book examines the remarkable increase of blacks at all levels of political life and makes the first systematic comparison of black and white elected officials.
-
Whiny Little Bitch: The Excuse-Filled Presidency of Barack Obama
By Mike CullenRevised and updated 2012 edition with 25% new material! Enjoying Your Hope and Change? Whiny Little Bitch is your guide to the most embarrassing presidency since the Carter Administration.
-
The Man
By Irving WallaceAn unexpected accident and the law of succession have just made Douglass Dilman the first black President of the United States. This is the theme of what was surely one of the most provocative novels of the 1960s.
-
No Easy Victories: Black Americans and the Vote
By Clarence LusaneExamines the history of the African American struggle to achieve a voice in government in the United States, from before the Civil War to the present