The African American Experience in Texas: An Anthology ed. by Bruce A. Glasrud, James M. Smallwood (review)

Abstract

ing Wells’s induction into baseball’s most hallowed hall. In so doing, he accomplishes his goal of writing a book for enthusiastic and casual fans alike. Indeed, those uninterested in the game itself will find value in this publication. Willie Wells begins slowly, unlike its subject. Luke uses his opening chapters to convince readers of the validity of Wells’s enshrinement and of the extent of his talent. These chapters rely heavily on the memories of teammates, opponents, and fans, since statistics from the Negro leagues are rare. Still, his abundance of anecdotal history mixed with available statistics is convincing, except possibly to extreme statistical junkies. Luke does an excellent job of interweaving facts and opinions from oral histories, newspaper accounts, and other books on the Negro leagues. For readers more interested in twentieth-century or Austin history, the middle chapter offers an engaging look at American life as Wells, raised in Austin, leaves the state capital to play ball throughout North America. Beginning in 1923 with the Austin Black Senators and returning to coach the Little League Austin Indians in 1974, Wells sojourned with Negro League teams in St. Louis, Chicago, New York, and other U.S. cities. Not only does Willie Wells describe the differences in racial toleration between the northern states and southern states but, since Wells played for teams in Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Canada, the book contains glimpses into the acceptance of racial diversity throughout the continent. This account of Wells’s career provides the background to understand the “problem of ‘mind-set’” (p. 99) that barred African Americans from Major League Baseball until 1947 and disqualified Negro League stars from Cooperstown until 1971. As Luke clearly shows, racism was not the only thing keeping the Negro Leaguers out. Baseball’s moguls, many of whom are and were traditionalists, also worried that waiving the ten-year rule for eligibility might lead some to “think standards had been watered down” (p. 108). The final chapters of Willie Wells explain the arguments and detail the chronology of those changes in a concise, clear manner, concluding with Austin’s celebration of its newly recognized hero: a mural, downtown banners, a day (February 6, 1998), a play, and re-interment in the Texas State Cemetery. Willie Wells, like other good sports biographies, is about more than an individual ; it is American history. Good documentation and a well-organized bibliography enhance this brief account’s value to those researching baseball, race relations , or Texas history. For those, Willie Wells should reside in their personal libraries. Texas State University–San Marcos Alan C. Atchison The African American Experience in Texas: An Anthology. Edited by Bruce A. Glasrud and James M. Smallwood. (Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press, 2007. Pp. 424. Tables, notes, select bibliography, index. ISBN 978-0-89672-609-3. $40.00, paper.) Professors Bruce A. Glasrud and James M. Smallwood have assembled a collection of seventeen essays that topically analyze the African American experi2009 Book Reviews 349 *jan 09 11/26/08 12:00 PM Page 349 ence in Texas from the early days of American slavery in the 1820s up to the civil rights struggle of the 1970s. Two essays are original to the volume with the remaining articles culled from journals over the last quarter century. The anthology is intended to serve as a benchmark of the recent work done in the field and as a touchstone resource for the future study of African American history in Texas. Furthermore, the work stands as a tribute to the pioneering work conducted at the Texas Tech “School of Black History,” led by Alwyn Barr and the late Lawrence L. Graves, and the important historiographic breakthroughs made since the 1960s. To these ends, the editors have done a masterful job. The book is divided into eight articles on the nineteenth century and nine on the twentieth century, with each section containing an introductory essay that provides a historical overview of the century. The breadth of topics covered is impressive, particularly in the area of social and cultural history. Articles range from the stability of the African American family during Reconstruction, to the growth of urban churches in the late...