Exodus Politics: Civil Rights and Leadership in African American Literature and Culture

Contents

Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction: Civil Rights, Leadership, and Exodus Politics 1 1 “Is He the One?”: Civil Rights Activism and Leadership in Ernest Gaines’s The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman 33 2 “The Refusal of Christ to Accept Crucifixion”: Bridge Leadership in Alice Walker’s Meridian 62 3 “The Important Thing Is Making Generations”: Reproduction and Blues Performance as Forms of Civil Rights Leadership in Gayl Jones’s Corregidora 90 4 “We All Killed Him”: The Limits of Formal Leadership and Civil Rights Legislation in Charles Johnson’s Dreamer 125 Epilogue: Is There Life after Exodus Politics? 153 Notes 163 Bibliography 179 Index 195 ...