Racial Dynamics in Early Twentieth-Century Austin, Texas

(Hardback)

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This pioneering study sheds new light on racial dynamics in the urban Southwest at a critical juncture in the history of the region and the nation. It focuses upon the experiences of ethnoracial minorities, particularly African Americans and Mexican immigrants in Austin, Texas from the dawn of the Progressive Era to the onset of the Great Depression. Through this lens, McDonald explores the issues of migration, proletarianization, marginalization, adaptation, identity, and community. He reveals how, in response to the exponential growth of the local ethnic-Mexican population, the white elite of the Lone Star States capital adapted the citys bipartite system of segregation, which had traditionally separated blacks from whites, to incorporate Mexicans as a third and separate element, neither black nor white. As well as examining how African Americans and Mexican Americans responded to life in a racially-stratified society, McDonald examines the often fraught relationship between these groups.

Reviews

In Racial Dynamics in Early Twentieth-Century Austin, Texas, Jason McDonald successfully adds to the sparse historical literature that compares black and Latino experiences as urbanization hastened in the first three decades of the twentieth century. ... This is an important work for scholars interested in the processes of racialization, ghettoization, and segregation, or students of urban history in the South and Southwest. As U.S. cities continue to incorporate more Latinos and other racial groups, understanding the dynamics of tri-racial urban societies becomes increasingly important. Austin provides a case study that is large enough to be representative but small enough to be viewed holistically. Every aspect of life in Austin is explored through the prism of race relations. The meticulous and comprehensive research stands out. The primary source materials demonstrate an incredible amount of archival work, and the text is augmented by an impressive array of over sixty charts, tables, and graphs. This book is a welcome addition to the small but growing literature on Austin, and it dispels the idea that Austin is little more than a contemporary manifestation of the 'creative city'it also reflects the often troubled histories and cultures of cities in the South and Southwest. * Journal of American Ethnic History *
Since the 1900s, an increasing number of scholars have interrogated the complex racial history of Texas in ways that disrupt binaries of black and white or Anglo and Mexican American. Historian Jason McDonald contributes to this growing body of work with Racial Dynamics in the Early Twentieth-Century Austin, Texas, a book that focuses on African Americans, Anglos, and ethnic Mexicans in the years between 1900 and 1930. ... [T]his book provides a wealth of statistics. . . . scholars seeking information on urban issues in central Texas will consider this book a useful resource. * Journal of Southern History *
One of the strengths of Racial Dynamics in Early Twentieth-Century Austin, Texas is the stories that McDonald tells to illustrate the point that he is trying to makethat this "tripartite segregation" that existed in Austin was unique from other cities in the South and Southwest. . . McDonald has written an ambitious book that gives the reader some understanding as to how three racial and ethnic groups co-existed in Austin in the early twentieth century. * Southwestern Historical Quarterly *
Jason McDonald's well researched and beautifully written book raises some new and very challenging questions about the pattern of race relations experienced by Mexican-Americans and African-Americans in Austin, Texas in the early 20th century. -- George C. Wright, Prairie View A&M University

Author Bio

Jason McDonald has taught American history at various institutions, including Brunel University, Iowa State University, and the University of Southampton.