Radio and the Struggle for Civil Rights in the South (New Perspectives on the History of the South) Hardcover – February 28, 2006

Much has been said and written about how television raised the veil on Jim Crow - for example, the fact that stark images of police brutality against African Americans were broadcast into homes around the nation. But before television, Americans connected with the world via radio, and Jim Crow lacked the power to segregate what came over the airwaves.Ward explores the myriad ways network and local radio were used to advance the cause of Civil Rights and racial uplift, from obvious uses such as announcements of protests and rallies, to more subtle image enhancing programs such as "homemaker shows" (which might have served double duty by helping to create the collective female consciousness so crucial to the movement.)Ward neither presents nor defends a monolithic image of black vs white radio owners, producers, on-air personalities or even consumers. Throughout the book, in various towns and sometimes even at the same station, we meet some professionals of both races dedicated to the cause, and others dedicated to the bottom line. We meet listeners who are tuning in for news of the struggle and others who just want to be entertained. Sometimes they got both at the same time.It's rare to find a book which is both exhaustively researched AND enjoyable to read. I can obviously recommend it to anyone interested in African American Studies but I go a step further and recommend it to "old time radio" buffs as well. As one with an interest in both areas, I feel like I got 2 books for the price of one!