The problems of writing historiography are manifold.  The most prominent of these is that no sooner is it published than it instantly needs updating with the latest research, such is the wealth of material being introduced into our libraries at seemingly increasing momentum.  Other problems involve not upsetting colleagues by missing them out of the index and resisting the overuse of the epithet “seminal” in describing the vast array of academic works.

With this in mind it is an estimable feat that Kevern Verney has achieved through his contribution to the Issues in Historiography series.  Anyone who has any knowledge of African American history in the time of the Civil Rights Movement will be aware that it is a daunting task to behold the multitude of historical accounts and to know where to begin its study.  Now, with the assistance of Verney’s comprehensive survey, the student can have a sound starting point in their studies.  However, this book is not just invaluable for the beginner in US civil rights history but is an almanac for students at any level of study who wish to get to grips with the subject.  Indeed postgraduates would find this a useful tool to keep up to date with their own research areas and reminding themselves of the expertise that has preceded them.  Meanwhile lecturers and teachers will find this a core guide to set in their modules on the twentieth century civil rights struggle.

The book is approachable in covering the time period from 1895 and delineating various substantial areas of debate throughout the twentieth century.  For example, the first five chapters encompass what might be seen as the traditional areas of African American studies: the era of Booker T. Washington and accommodation, the ‘New Negro’, the Great Depression and the Second World War, the Civil Rights Movement up to 1965, and Malcolm X and the Black Power movement.  The last two chapters add further insight by discussing the new conservatism since 1980 and, of growing interest to researchers and students alike, the importance of African American contributions to popular culture. 

In a mere 196 pages, which includes chapter endnotes and a skilful bibliography, Verney has achieved a virtually impossible task with a breadth of knowledge and intimacy of style that will entertain, inform and challenge the reader.

Verney’s account considers the history behind the writing of history.  The reader is shown how the times that historians live in can affect their views of a subject and how they, in turn, often attempt to interact with their own social and political environment.  A perfect illustration of this is the white liberal southerner C. Vann Woodward who actively engaged in being a part of the civil rights struggle in 1950s America, showing how historians often debate the past to explain the present and to try and facilitate change.  Indeed Woodward’s seminal (it really is impossible to avoid that word) book, The Strange Career of Jim Crow (1955) was itself held up by Martin Luther King Jr as being ‘the Bible of the Civil Rights Movement” (p.18).  But with historians being what they are, Woodward’s own views were soon seized upon by Joel Williamson and others and arguments over the origins of racial segregation carried on. 

Verney’s book is essential in understanding the wider discussion of who writes history and for what purpose.  It is an invaluable contribution for students who will find this vital in their studies and in their understanding of historical debate.  Updates will no doubt follow.  The debate, after all, continues.

Dr Sartain’s book ‘Invisible Activists: Women of the Louisiana NAACP & the Struggle for Civil Rights, 1915-1945’ is published by Louisiana State University Press in April 2007.