Toward Freedom Land

The son of Jewish immigrants, Harvard Sitkoff has experienced first hand discrimination and prejudice. While studying at Queen's College he participated in numerous protests against social injustice, particularly racial inequality. Since then, Sitkoff has established himself as one of the nation's most respected historians of race relations by illuminating the complicated dynamics of the African American struggle for equality.
Toward Freedom Land: The Long Struggle for Racial Equality in America offers an authoritative collection of Sitkoff's seminal works from his 40 years of research. This volume details the origins and evolution of the civil rights movement, particularly the effects of the Great Depression on African Americans, the relationship between African American workers and the labor movement, and the influence of World War II on racial equality. Toward Freedom Land also provides insight into pivotal moments in American history, such as the New Deal's impact on race relations and subsequent events, including the Detroit Riot of 1943.
Sitkoff's writing focuses primarily on individuals at the local level, emphasizing the different social, political, and economic factors that influenced the progression of the movement and revealing Sitkoff's own shifting views and approaches to history.
Toward Freedom Land allows readers to witness both the development of the African American role in society as well as Sitkoff's evolving methods of research and documentation. Sitkoff's works continue to be pivotal to scholarship concerning racial equality in the United States, providing captivating insight into the most significant social changes in US history.

Harvard Sitkoff, professor emeritus of history at the University of New Hampshire, is the author of King: Pilgrimage to the Mountaintop.