At the
Guardian, Nadja Sayej shared books from "[f]ive history professors, pundits and human rights organizations [who] have recommended
five historical titles that shed light on the history of white supremacy in the country," including:
White Flight: Atlanta and the Making of Modern Conservatism by Kevin M. Kruse
The winner of three book awards in 2007, this book takes us back to the 1960s and 1970s, a time when white Americans fled to Atlanta’s suburbs as a form of segregation in reaction to the civil rights movement. This was a time when southern conservatives resisted integration by opening their own private schools known as “segregation academies”. The book tracks white opposition to civil rights and links southern discrimination with suburban sprawl. “The lesson for today, I think, lies in how many whites dismissed civil rights activists as troublemakers who were creating disorder,” said Victoria Wolcott, chair of the history department at Buffalo University. “The activists, not the policies they opposed, were [deemed] responsible for any violence. The author helps us understand how mainstream conservative thought also has its roots in more openly racist policies.”
Read about
another book on the list.
--Marshal Zeringue
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