Joe William Trotter Jr. - Workers on Arrival: Black Labor in the Making of America

An eloquent and essential correction to contemporary discussions of the American working class.The Nation
From the ongoing issues of poverty, health, housing, and employment to the recent upsurge of lethal police-community relations, the black working class stands at the center of perceptions of social and racial conflict today. Journalists and public policy analysts often discuss the black poor as consumers rather than producers, as takers rather than givers, and as liabilities instead of assets.
In his engrossing history, Workers on Arrival, Joe William Trotter, Jr., refutes these perceptions by charting the black working classs vast contributions to the making of America. Covering the last four hundred years since Africans were first brought to Virginia in 1619, Trotter traces the complicated journey of black workers from the transatlantic slave trade to the demise of the industrial order in the twenty-first century. At the center of this compelling, fast-paced narrative are the actual experiences of these African American men and women. A dynamic and vital history of remarkable contributions despite repeated setbacks, Workers on Arrival expands our understanding of Americas economic and industrial growth, its cities, ideas, and institutions, and the real challenges confronting black urban communities today.