Jeffrey L. Littlejohn – författare

How Black activism has helped achieve and maintain democracy for all Americans  



In2020, Black Americans continued a centuries-long pursuit of racial equality and justice in the streets and at the polls. Arguing that this year was not a deviation from the historic Civil Rights Movement, the contributors to this collection examine the important work of Black men and women during the previous decades to shape, expand, and preserve a multiracial American democracy.



The authors of these chapters show that Black Americans have long pushed local and national leaders to ensure that all citizens reap the full benefits of the Constitution. They discuss Black women’s roles in advancing national voting rights; how Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) developed “race leaders”; discriminatory news coverage and actions against it; antipoverty efforts; and the racial and gender dynamics of activist organizations.



These studies show how Black activism from the mid-twentieth century to the present has led to positive changes for all Americans, holding the nation to its democraticideals and promises. Black Citizens and American Democracy compels recognition of many unsung people who have risked their lives and livelihoods for the good of the country.   



Contributors:Reginald K. Ellis | Cassandra Newby-Alexander | Jacqueline Jones | Peter B. Levy | Charles Chavis Jr. | Charles H. Ford | Wesley G. Phelps |Sharlene Sinegal-DeCuir | Jeffrey L. Littlejohn | Kristopher Bryan Burrell

In Elusive Equality, Jeffrey L. Littlejohn and Charles H. Ford place Norfolk, Virginia, at the center of the South''s school desegregation debates, tracing the crucial role that Norfolk’s African Americans played in efforts to equalize and integrate the city’s schools. The authors relate how local activists participated in the historic teacher-pay-parity cases of the 1930s and 1940s, how they fought against the school closures and "Massive Resistance" of the 1950s, and how they challenged continuing patterns of discrimination by insisting on crosstown busing in the 1970s and 1980s. Despite the advances made by local activists, however, Littlejohn and Ford argue that the vaunted "urban advantage" supposedly now enjoyed by Norfolk’s public schools is not easy to reconcile with the city’s continuing gaps and disparities in relation to race and class.

In analyzing the history of struggles over school integration in Norfolk, the authors scrutinize the stories told by participants, including premature declarations of victory that laud particular achievements while ignoring the larger context in which they take place. Their research confirms that Norfolk was a harbinger of national trends in educational policy and civil rights.

Drawing on recently released archival materials, oral interviews, and the rich newspaper coverage in the Journal and Guide, Virginian-Pilot, and Ledger-Dispatch, Littlejohn and Ford present a comprehensive, multidimensional, and unsentimental analysis of the century-long effort to gain educational equality. A historical study with contemporary implications, their book offers a balanced view based on a thorough, sober look at where Norfolk’s school district has been and where it is going.