Confronting Jim Crow

“A masterfully prepared and comprehensive depiction of staunch racism and segregation and the fight of embattled Black students at the University of Georgia. . . . Cohen crystalizes the sharp outcry against integration both on campus and in the broader state of Georgia. . . . [A] necessary addition to the historical narrative on the struggle for integration.”—North Carolina Historical Review

“Powerful. . . . Confronting Jim Crow provides a rich analysis of race on the UGA campus. . . . [A] compelling and important accounting and analysis of race on a Southern campus.”—Georgia Historical Quarterly

“Confronting Jim Crow is an important work of social, intellectual, and educational history that places a spotlight on the unrelenting afterlife of Jim Crow in educational institutions.”—Historical Studies in Education

“Robert Cohen’s fascinating account of the riot that in 1961 sought to bar the first Black students from the University of Georgia reminds us that there is nothing new about current efforts to suppress the teaching of 'divisive' subjects and that such miseducation can breed ignorance, bigotry, and violence. Yet Cohen also invites us to admire the courage of these students, which stood in sharp contrast to the retrograde policies of Georgia’s political and university leadership and to the behavior of so many white students. Essential reading for anyone interested in the contested future of American education.”—Eric Foner, Columbia University

“Confronting Jim Crow is an astounding contemporary exploration into the continued struggle for freedom of thought in higher education. Through its expansion of the notion of activist, this book reminds us that though the liberal student activism at UGA was far more muted than that outside the South, it was still activism—and dangerous activism at that.”—Joy Williamson-Lott, University of Washington

“This book is impeccable! Its contribution to the history of higher education will resonate with the public at a time when many southern colleges and universities are beginning to grapple with their troubled past of race and segregation.”—Derrick P. Alridge, University of Virginia