Oral history interview with Hylan Lewis, January 13, 1991

Sociologist Hylan Lewis describes his experiences with race in the American South in the period before the civil rights movement gained steam. Lewis witnessed an energized but still uncertain post-World War II African American community that was beginning to discuss how best to fight for equality. At the same time, white southern politicians were devising new strategies of resistance. This interview offers a broad comment on an important and often overlooked moment in civil rights history.