Books: Non-Fiction

The Southern Mystique

Book — Non-fiction. By Howard Zinn. 1964.
In one of his earliest published works, Howard Zinn writes about his experiences teaching and organizing with the Civil Rights Movement in the South.

Time Periods: 1945, 1961, All US History
Themes: Civil Rights Movements, Organizing, Racism & Racial Identity

In one of his first books, Howard Zinn examines the politics of the South and his own experiences there. In this powerful volume, drawing on Zinn’s own experiences teaching in the South and working within the Southern civil rights movement, Zinn examines the “mystique” of the South as it exists in the imaginations of outsiders and challenges the stereotypes surrounding the South. The book also explores race relations and how change happens in history.

The Southern Mystique was first published in 1964, with articles and essays previously published in magazines and journals. The book is divided into four parts: Is the Southern White Unfathomable?; The “Mysterious” Negro; Albany, Georgia: Ghost in the Cage; and The South as a Mirror. A recent edition of the book was published in 2012.

ISBN: 9780896086807 | Haymarket Books

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