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Acknowledgments I would have never completed this project without the assistance, guidance, and support of several different people. The dissertation that yielded this book was directed with great patience by Olivier Zunz, Commonwealth Professor of History at the University of Virginia. His guidance and demanding attention to detail were central to the development of the core ideas at the heart of this project. In the intervening years he has continued to provide invaluable advice and support. My colleagues in the History Department at Purdue University have been equally important in the development of this book. In big and small ways, they have been instrumental in my development as a scholar and writer. In particular, I would like to thank my department head, R. Douglas Hurt, and Randy Roberts, Susan Curtis, Robert May, Frank Lambert, and Nancy Gabin, each of whom read my work and provided critical feedback that greatly improved the final product. I would also like to acknowledge the invaluable assistance and professionalism of the library staff at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Newberry Library, and the Library of Congress Manuscripts Division. In particular, I would like to thank Andre Elizee and Steven Fullwood for their willingness to guide me through the Schomburg collections. There are any number of vital documents that I would have overlooked or completely missed without their thoughtful suggestions and encouragement. The staff at the Newberry was equally gracious in guiding me through the Pullman Company collection. And the staff at the Library of Congress efficiently steered me though the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters collections. viii . acknowledgments In each case, the librarians that I encountered were cheerful and helpful and made some of the more tedious moments in my research a bit more pleasant . Lastly, I would like to thank my wife, Mia. I cannot express what your love, support, and encouragement have meant to me. From the moment we met in graduate school, you have been a close confidant, steadfast friend, and companion, and there is simply no way for me to express my gratitude for all that you have done to support and encourage me. ...

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