Download or read book Black Tennesseans, 1900-1930 written by Lester C. Lamon and published by Univ. of Tennessee Press. This book was released on 2002-03 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The early decades of the twentieth century -- the period covered in this narrative history -- were critical "watershed" years for black Tennesseans, just as they were for Afro-Americans generally. Those were the years that saw the northward migration of an increasing number of blacks, the peak of segregation restriction, and the spawning of the "New Negro" or militant movement. Faced with these special pressures, Tennessee became an arena for conflict between the accommodationist view of Booker T. Washington and the activist ideas of W. E. B. DuBois. (Both men came to the state to proselytize.) Although the majority of black Tennesseans basically accepted the approach of Booker T. Washington, they -- especially the young -- became more likely during these years to act on their own behalf, rather than passively accept the inequities borne by past generations.