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To serve the living, funeral directors and African American way of death

To serve the living, funeral directors and African American way of death Hardcover - 2010

by Smith, Suzanne E

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  • Hardcover
  • Signed
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Description

Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2010. Hardcover. 257p., first edition, inscribed & signed "January 26, 2010. Dear Cornelia [Levine], It is with great joy that I send this copy of my book to you. I think that Larry [Prof. Lawrence Levine] would be proud that I finished it! It meant a great deal dedicate it to him & Roy [Rosenzweig] --- as well as Doug, Evan & Jeremy, Love Suzy [Suzanna E. Smith], very good condition in like dust jacket.
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Details

  • Title To serve the living, funeral directors and African American way of death
  • Author Smith, Suzanne E
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Pages 288
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
  • Date 2010
  • Features Bibliography, Dust Cover, Index, Table of Contents
  • Bookseller's Inventory # 300161
  • ISBN 9780674036215 / 0674036212
  • Weight 1.01 lbs (0.46 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.5 x 5.52 x 0.99 in (21.59 x 14.02 x 2.51 cm)
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 20th Century
    • Ethnic Orientation: African American
    • Topical: Black History
    • Topical: Death/Dying
  • Library of Congress subjects African Americans - Social life and customs, United States - Social life and customs
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2009035231
  • Dewey Decimal Code 363.750

About Bolerium Books Inc., ABAA/ILAB California, United States

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Established in 1981 in San Francisco, we specialize in books and ephemeral materials related to the history of Labor and other social movements, including the struggles for Black and Chicano equality, the Gay liberation movement, Feminism, and Asian-American activism, as well as the Far Right. In recent years Bolerium has expanded into materials in non-western languages, especially from East Asia, and has also placed more emphasis on ephemera, with tens of thousands of original leaflets, pamphlets, and posters in stock. You can sign up for free email lists in our subject areas at www.bolerium.com. We are located in San Francisco at 2141 Mission, Suite 300 (between 17th & 18th St.). We're open by appointment only..

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From the publisher

Includes bibliographical references and index.

From the jacket flap

From antebellum slavery to the twenty-first century, African American funeral directors have orchestrated funerals or "homegoing" ceremonies with dignity and pageantry. As entrepreneurs in a largely segregated trade, they were among the few black individuals in any community who were economically independent and not beholden to the local white power structure. Most important, their financial freedom gave them the ability to support the struggle for civil rights and, indeed, to serve the living as well as bury the dead. During the Jim Crow era, black funeral directors relied on racial segregation to secure their foothold in America's capitalist marketplace. With the dawning of the civil rights age, these entrepreneurs were drawn into the movement to integrate American society, but were also uncertain how racial integration would affect their business success. From the beginning, this tension between personal gain and community service shaped the history of African American funeral directing. For African Americans, death was never simply the end of life, and funerals were not just occasions to mourn. In the "hush harbors" of the slave quarters, African Americans first used funerals to bury their dead and to plan a path to freedom. Similarly, throughout the long--and often violent--struggle for racial equality in the twentieth century, funeral directors aided the cause by honoring the dead while supporting the living. "To Serve the Living" offers a fascinating history of how African American funeral directors have been integral to the fight for freedom. Suzanne E. Smith is Associate Professor of History, George Mason University.

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Citations

  • Choice, 12/01/2010, Page 0
  • Reference and Research Bk News, 05/01/2010, Page 86

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