Brushing Back Jim Crow

"Adelson's outstanding survey of the period examines the groundbreaking role of professional baseball, which paved the way for social mixing of blacks and whites and anticipated the victories of the NAACP and the civil rights movement that would soon follow (there's also an excellent account of legislative and judicial decisions throughout the 1950s and '60s). Most importantly, Adelson documents the moving experiences of such extraordinary men as Percy Miller, who integrated the Carolina league in 1951; future big leaguers Manny Mota and Felipe Alou; future Hall of Famers Hank Aaron and Billy Williams; and visionary white owners, including Dave Burnett of the Texas League. Adelson's account of their struggles is much more than a good baseball book: it's a detailed history of how the struggle for integration and civil rights played out in the daily life of a profession that just happens to be the national pastime." - Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Adelson presents a slice of recent American history that is not completely gone, and certainly not forgotten. Brushing Back Jim Crow is an aggressive attempt to shed light on minor-league baseball in the South, and the stars who would emerge to change the game - and a society." - Philadelphia Inquirer"