African Americans in the U.S. Economy

This new volume of essays on the emerging field of African American political economy is both provocative and remarkably comprehensive. It features articles by many of the leading thinkers in the field, such as Manning Marable, William Darity, Thomas Boston, Richard America, Cecilia Conrad, Patrick Mason and James Stewart (the last three are also among the book's editors). The book will make an excellent text for courses in political economy, history, sociology and economics which focus on the African American experience, as well as more general courses which seek a solid historical and theoretical analysis. The book was also selected as one of Choice magazine's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2005. As the preface notes, the book is premised on two basic themes: first, the idea that race matters. Second, the idea that history matters. A reader outside the field of economics may be excused for wondering why these commonsense ideas could possibly be considered provocative. The simple answer is that most of the economics profession views both race and history as unimportant; race is seen as a temporary effect of market power, which perfect competition will eliminate, while history is seen as secondary to theory. A major theme of the book is the many shortcomings of this view. The book is divided into nine sections, which take the reader through a rich set of theoretical and historical arguments, providing a deep context for understanding the current economic situation for the African American community. Early sections focus on the development of the `black labor force', discussing slavery, sharecropping, the uneven economic development of Europe and Africa, and the complex relationship between organized labor and African Americans. The book is an extremely important attempt to grapple with the problem of race in the U.S. today, in all its complexity. It is recommended to all serious students of social theory.