1960s
20th century
A01=George B Nesbitt
A23=Imani Perry
A23=St Clair Drake
african american history
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Author_George B Nesbitt
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B01=Prexy Nesbitt
B01=Zeb Larson
biographical
biography
black studies scholars
Category1=Non-Fiction
Category=BM
Category=DNC
Category=JBSL
Category=JFSL3
chicago
civil rights
COP=United States
Delivery_Delivery within 10-20 working days
education
educational opportunity
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
family
freedom struggle
george nesbitt
great migration
humor
illinois
judges
Language_English
law
lawyers
legal system
literary-historical time capsule
multigenerational memoir
ordinary man
PA=Available
Price_€20 to €50
professional accomplishments
PS=Active
racial discrimination
sharp insights
social issues
softlaunch
storytelling
world war ii
Product details
- ISBN 9780226783123
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 22 Nov 2021
- Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
- Language: English
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The late Chicagoan George Nesbitt could perhaps best be described as an ordinary man with an extraordinary gift for storytelling. In his newly uncovered memoir—written fifty years ago, yet never published—he chronicles in vivid and captivating detail the story of how his upwardly-mobile Midwestern Black family lived through the tumultuous twentieth century.
Spanning three generations, Nesbitt’s tale starts in 1906 with the Great Migration and ends with the Freedom Struggle in the 1960s. He describes his parents’ journey out of the South, his struggle against racist military authorities in World War II, the promise and peril of Cold War America, the educational and professional accomplishments he strove for and achieved, the lost faith in integration, and, despite every hardship, the unwavering commitment by three generations of Black Americans to fight for a better world. Through all of it—with his sharp insights, nuance, and often humor—we see a family striving to lift themselves up in a country that is working to hold them down.
Nesbitt’s memoir includes two insightful forewords: one by John Gibbs St. Clair Drake (1911-90), a pioneer in the study of African American life, the other a contemporary rumination by noted Black studies scholar Imani Perry. A rare first-person, long-form narrative about Black life in the twentieth century, Being Somebody and Black Besides is a remarkable literary-historical time capsule that will delight modern readers.
George B. Nesbitt (1912was a lawyer and civil rights activist. Prexy Nesbitt is a Presidential Fellow in Peace Studies in the Department of Peace Studies at Chapman University. Zeb Larson is a writer and historian based in Columbus, Ohio.
