We Ask Only a Fair Trial

Despite its growth as an industrial center, Evansville remained heavily influenced by the virulent racism of its antebellum past. Bigham traces the devlopment of a black community, focusing on the origin and nature of the obstacles to equal opportunity. He reveals, however, that black Evansvillians built a richly variegated subculture, relying heavily on their own resources, and occasional assistance from sympathetic whites.