Black Towns, Black Futures

“In a succinctly written text, Karla Slocum explores the Black towns that thrived in Oklahoma during the Jim Crow years. Her analysis however, does not stop there. Utilizing interviews and observations, Slocum explores the enduring attraction to these communities both in memory and in person. In doing so, she underscores the history of these towns as examples of African American self-determination, autonomy, and freedom in rural Oklahoma.”—Western Historical Quarterly

“An impressive effort to theorize what Slocum calls the 'appeal' of Black towns in the United States, not historically, but in contemporary social life. . . . Black Towns, Black Futures is necessary now, for the glimpse it provides into the vision and attraction of Black spaces and Black places, at a time when safety and survival seem increasingly precarious.”—Anthropological Quarterly

"Slocum builds on a fascinating multidisciplinary literature . . . This book should resonate well with students and scholars of multiple disciplines. Its ability to effectively link history to contemporary concerns is reminiscent of the superb anthropological works on southern life in the 1930s.”—Journal of African American History

“A compelling and fascinating exploration of how space, place, and race converge in rural America.”—Journal of Southern History

“Though neither a history of Black towns nor an architectural study of Black town buildings and spaces, Black Towns, Black Futures makes a critical contribution for scholars of the built environment of the southern United States and the Americas at large by showing that the complex reality of twenty-first century Black towns is constructed upon centuries of sedimented racial violence, displacement, and resistance.”—Arris

“Incorporating interviews, reflections on participation in local events, personal narratives, and archival research across multiple towns, the work demonstrates that Black towns remain a source of pride in success, innovation, and community. . . . Recommended.”—CHOICE

“Slocum gives us a sense of the importance of Black towns, which then becomes an allegory for the importance of one’s own history, which then becomes a commentary on what makes all of us human. Black Towns, Black Futures is innovative and methodologically rigorous, while also accessible and highly original. An outstanding book.” —Laurence Ralph, Princeton University

“Slocum has written a careful, convincing, and insightful argument about how and why it makes sense to think seriously about the state of—and lure of—Black towns in contemporary American society. A wonderful example of what ethnography can do when placed in proper historical context and steeped in the cultural politics of local communities.” —John L. Jackson Jr., University of Pennsylvania