Radical Moves

Caribbean Migrants and the Politics of Race in the Jazz Age

By Lara Putnam | Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press

About the book

In the generations after emancipation, hundreds of thousands of African-descended working-class men and women left their homes in the British Caribbean to seek opportunity abroad: in the goldfields of Venezuela and the cane fields of Cuba, the canal construction in Panama, and the bustling city streets of Brooklyn. But in the 1920s and 1930s, racist nativism and a brutal cascade of antiblack immigration laws swept the hemisphere. Facing borders and barriers as never before, Afro-Caribbean migrants rethought allegiances of race, class, and empire. In Radical Moves, Lara Putnam takes readers from tin-roof tropical dancehalls to the elegant black-owned ballrooms of Jazz Age Harlem to trace the roots of the black-internationalist and anticolonial movements that would remake the twentieth century.
From Trinidad to 136th Street, these were years of great dreams and righteous demands. Praying or “jazzing,” writing letters to the editor or letters home, Caribbean men and women tried on new ideas about the collective. The popular culture of black internationalism they created — from Marcus Garvey’s UNIA to “regge” dances, Rastafarianism, and Joe Louis’s worldwide fandom — still echoes in the present.

Editions of Radical Moves

Hardcover
ISBN 9780807835821
Paperback
ISBN 9780807872857
EBook
ISBN 9780807838136
EBook
ISBN 9781469600246
EBook
ISBN 9798893130515
PDF
ISBN 9798890843616

Read an Excerpt

In the generations after emancipation, hundreds of thousands of African-descended working-class men and women left their homes in the British Caribbean to seek opportunity abroad: in the goldfields of Venezuela and the cane fields of Cuba, the canal construction in Panama, and the bustling city streets of Brooklyn. But in the 1920s and 1930s, racist nativism and a brutal cascade of antiblack immigration laws swept the hemisphere. Facing borders and barriers as never before, Afro-Caribbean migrants rethought allegiances of race, class, and empire. In Radical Moves, Lara Putnam takes readers from tin-roof tropical dancehalls to the elegant black-owned ballrooms of Jazz Age Harlem to trace the roots of the black-internationalist and anticolonial movements that would remake the twentieth century.
From Trinidad to 136th Street, these were years of great dreams and righteous demands. Praying or “jazzing,” writing letters to the editor or letters home, Caribbean men and women tried on new ideas about the collective. The popular culture of black internationalism they created — from Marcus Garvey’s UNIA to “regge” dances, Rastafarianism, and Joe Louis’s worldwide fandom — still echoes in the present.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Radical Moves about?

In the generations after emancipation, hundreds of thousands of African-descended working-class men and women left their homes in the British Caribbean to seek opportunity abroad: in the goldfields of Venezuela and the cane fields of Cuba, the canal construction in Panama, and the bustling city streets of Brooklyn. But in the 1920s and 1930s, racist nativism and a brutal cascade of antiblack immigration laws swept the hemisphere. Facing borders and barriers as never before, Afro-Caribbean migrants rethought allegiances of race, class, and empire. In Radical Moves, Lara Putnam takes readers from tin-roof tropical dancehalls to the elegant black-owned ballrooms of Jazz Age Harlem to trace the roots of the black-internationalist and anticolonial movements that would remake the twentieth century.
From Trinidad to 136th Street, these were years of great dreams and righteous demands. Praying or “jazzing,” writing letters to the editor or letters home, Caribbean men and women tried on new ideas about the collective. The popular culture of black internationalism they created — from Marcus Garvey’s UNIA to “regge” dances, Rastafarianism, and Joe Louis’s worldwide fandom — still echoes in the present.

What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Radical Moves?

History and Archaeology > History > History of the Americas

Where can I read a sample of Radical Moves?

You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9780807835821

How long is Radical Moves and how many pages does it have?

Radical Moves has 336 page(s)

Who is/are the Author/s of the book Radical Moves?

Lara Putnam

Who is the Publisher of the book Radical Moves?

The University of North Carolina Press

What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?

Radical Moves is available as hardcover(ISBN 9780807835821) and paperback(ISBN 9780807872857) and ebook(ISBN 9780807838136) and ebook(ISBN 9781469600246) and ebook(ISBN 9798893130515) and pdf(ISBN 9798890843616)

Where can I buy Radical Moves online or support local independent bookshops?

You can buy Radical Moves from below

Where can I buy Radical Moves?