The Color of Work: The Struggle for Civil Rights in the Southern Paper Industry, 1945–1980. By Timothy J. Minchin. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2001. Pp. x, 277. $24.95, paper

William Boyd

The Journal of Economic History, 2001, vol. 61, issue 4, 1143-1145

Abstract: This book documents efforts to integrate the southern paper industry during the post–World War II period. It makes an important contribution not only to the vast and growing literature on the civil-rights movement but also to economic and legal history. In contrast to the traditional focus of civil-rights historians on voting rights, school desegregation, and public accommodations, Timothy Minchin takes up the issue of fair employment and access to jobs as components of the broader civil-rights struggle. Building on his earlier research on the textile industry (Hiring the Black Worker: The Racial Integration of the Southern Textile Industry, 1960–1980. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1999), Minchin focuses specifically on the role of black activists and civil-rights advocates in utilizing the legal machinery put in place by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (specifically, Title VII) as a vehicle for litigation against companies and unions seeking to deny black workers equal employment opportunities. Drawing on the vast record generated by Title VII litigation and oral interviews with key actors, Minchin provides considerable insight into the lived experiences and strategic thinking of those struggling to integrate the industry. The overall story provides powerful support for the efficacy of federal civil-rights legislation in opening up new opportunities for black workers.

Date: 2001
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