Witness: An Oral History of Black Politics in Boston 1920-1960

This book begins in 1917 at the beginning of World War I and ends with a discussion of urban renewal, which took place in Boston's black community in the 1950s and 1960s. It is based on twenty-three long, taped interviews with prominent black Bostonians between July of 1988 and February of 1989. It is thus a narrative about black politics taken from the memories of black Bostonians between July of 1988 and February of 1989. The last section of the book is a curriculum guide written for high school and college teachers by the well-known black educator, historian, and author Robert C. Hayden. For each of the four decades between the 1920s and 1960s, it contains background information, chapter summaries, social studies concepts and topics, questions for discussion, proposed student activities, and suggested readings.