Black Folk: The Roots of the Black Working Class

Black Folk by Blair LM Kelley is a groundbreaking historical narrative that sheds light on the adversities and joys of the Black working class in America.

Through a stunning narrative centered on her forebears, Kelley restores the Black working class to the center of the American story, highlighting their labor, community, and resistance from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Spanning two hundred years, this book takes readers from enslaved blacksmiths to Covid-19 pandemic essential workers, showcasing the lives of laundresses, Pullman porters, domestic maids, and postal workers who established the Black working class as a force in America.

With a focus on intimate spaces where multiple generations labored from dawn to dusk, Kelley's narrative reveals how these networks of resistance and joy sustained early arrivals and newcomers alike, laying the groundwork for organizing for better jobs, better pay, and equal rights.

Black Folk is a must-read for anyone interested in American history, labor movements, or the experiences of Black people in America.