Crossroads at Clarksdale: The Black Freedom Struggle in the Mississippi Delta after World War II, by Françoise N. Hamlin

Weaving national narratives from stories of the daily lives and familiar places of local residents, Françoise Hamlin chronicles the slow struggle for black freedom through the history of Clarksdale, Mississippi. Hamlin paints a full picture of the town over fifty years, recognizing the accomplishments of its diverse African American community and strong NAACP branch, and examining the extreme brutality of entrenched power there. The Clarksdale story defies triumphant narratives of dramatic change, and presents instead a layered, contentious, untidy, and often disappointingly unresolved civil rights movement. Visit the book page: Crossroads at Clarksdale: The Black Freedom Struggle in the Mississippi Delta after World War II