Selling the Race: Culture, Community, and Black Chicago, 1940-1955

Focusing on the pivotal role of black Chicagoans, this book explores their influence in a national movement during the 1940s and '50s, as African Americans began to unite under a shared cultural identity. Key events are reinterpreted, including the 1940 American Negro Exposition, the emergence of black music and its related culture industry, the establishment of the Associated Negro Press, and Johnson Publishing's founding. The narrative also addresses the significant impact of Emmett Till's 1955 lynching, highlighting its resonance within the community.