A Question of Manhood: A Reader in U.S. Black Men's History and Masculinity, vol.2, The 19th Century: From Emancipation to Jim Crow.

Edited by Earnestine Jenkins and Darlene Clark Hine. Blacks in the Diaspora. (Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, c. 2001. Pp. [xx], 482. Paper, $29.95, ISBN 0-253-33924-3; cloth, $59.95, ISBN 0-253-21343-6.)

This compilation of twenty essays (all previously published) analyzes the gendered responses of black men to issues that confronted them from the Reconstruction period through the turn of the twentieth century. Like the first volume of the series, it is divided into five parts. Part One examines how black male leaders dealt with the challenges of protecting and fostering the newly won freedoms of African Americans. Part Two focuses on the black laboring class, with articles that illustrate the struggles faced by black farmers, cattlemen, policemen, and railroad workers in their attempts to enhance their economic opportunities. The essays in Part Three continue the discussion of black workers by highlighting black professionals, and they reveal the special problems that black lawyers, doctors, and fraternal organizations encountered in their efforts to forge a place for themselves in the white-collar world. Part Four displays the prowess of blacks in the military and in sports. The writings in this section demonstrate how blacks constantly felt forced to prove their manhood in order to expand their civil and social opportunities. Lastly, Part Five analyzes the symbols of black manhood and masculinity during the latter part of the nineteenth century. Also as in the first volume, the editors contribute an introduction that summarizes and synthesizes the articles within, which is particularly useful for teachers, allowing them to more quickly identify those pieces that best fit the subjects and themes of classroom discussions.

There are some excellent essays in this volume. For example, Manning Marable's "The Politics of Black Land Tenure, 1877-1915," clearly lays bare the problems that black landowners faced in their efforts to maintain middle-class status. Although racism worked against the economic viability of black farmers, Marable explains that other factors also contributed to the decline of black landownership in the early years of the twentieth century. David K. Wiggins's "Peter Jackson and the Elusive Heavyweight Championship: A Black Athlete's Struggle Against the Late-Nineteenth-Century Color-Line" highlights the complications that Jackson faced while seeking the boxing championship. White champions routinely refused to fight Jackson, citing his race as the reason. Eventually one white champion, James J. Corbett, agreed to fight Jackson, but Corbett insisted that the match take place on his terms. Jackson refused, and thus he never gained the chance to fight for the crown. In "African Americans and the War Against Spain," Piero Gleijeses presents an accurate picture of the dilemmas that blacks faced in deciding whether or not to support the U.S. war effort against Spain and shows the dichotomous attitudes of African Americans toward the conflict. Blacks wanted to stand with the nation to show their patriotism, yet they also desired to protest the refusal of the government to secure the rights of blacks at home. Among the many other fine essays, Vicki Howard's "The Courtship Letters of an African American Couple: Race, Gender, Class, and the Cult of True Womanhood" and Kevin R. Hardwick's "'Your Old Father Abe Lincoln Is Dead and Damned': Black Soldiers and the Memphis Race Riot of 1866" deserve special mention.

Darlene Clark Hine and Earnestine Jenkins should once again be commended for their efforts in compiling this anthology, which provides readers with a great opportunity to appreciate the special circumstances and perspectives of black men as they labored to make their place in the nation. Teachers of African American studies will find this collection of essays to be a welcome addition to the resources available for studying the black American experience.

CHARLES F. ROBINSON II
University of Arkansas