Struggle and Progress: Black Politics in 20th Century Philadelphia

As we look towards a tightly contested presidential election this fall, Philadelphia residents will see frequent visits from candidates eager to win over voters in a critical swing state’s largest city. Those candidates will doubtless make their case to Black political organizations whose influence can make or break their electoral prospects.

How did African Americans create such a strong political presence over the course of the 20th century? A new book from Temple University Press, edited by APS grantee James Wolfinger, If There is No Struggle There is No Progress: Black Politics in Twentieth-Century Philadelphia, traces this history of Black politics in Philadelphia from the Great Migration of the early 20th Century through the 1990s. Join the APS for a discussion with Wolfinger and his co-authors Clem Harris, David Canton, and Stanley Keith Arnold on the role African Americans have played in Philadelphia’s political history.

James Wolfinger is Dean of the College of Education at St. John's University. He was previously Dean of the College of Education at Illinois State University and Associate Dean for Curriculum and Programs in the College of Education at DePaul University. Dr. Wolfinger earned his B.S. in Social Science Education from Auburn University, his M.A. in History from the University of Georgia, his Ph.D. in History from Northwestern University, and his teaching certification from the Georgia Department of Education. As a faculty member, he has extensive teaching and scholarly experience, including publishing three books, 21 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and 20 book reviews, in addition to presenting 55 conference papers and giving 28 invited seminars.

Clem Harris is the Inaugural Director of Africana Studies and an Associate Professor in the Department of History at Utica University, where he teaches interdisciplinary courses in African American Urban History, African Diasporic History, and Public Affairs. Dr. Harris holds a Ph.D. in History, with graduate certificates in Urban Studies and Africana Studies received from the University of Pennsylvania in 2013. His current book manuscript for the University of Pennsylvania Press titled: Reconstructing Philadelphia: The Persistence of Racism and the African American Struggle for Political Power and Civil Rights in the Urban North is a case study that examines electoral and protest activism in the urban north from the Abolition Era to the 1980s. 

Stanley Arnold is Associate Professor of History at Northern Illinois University. Dr. Arnold has a Ph.D. in History from Temple University. He is the author of Building the Beloved Community: Philadelphia's Interracial Civil Rights Movement, 1930-1970 (Jackson: University of Mississippi Press, 2014). His current book project, Beacons of their Race: African Americans and the Olympic Movement, 1896-1948, explores the impact of African Americans on the early Olympic Games. 

David Canton is Director of African American Studies Program and Associate Professor of History at the University of Florida. He graduated with a B.A. in History from Morehouse College, received his M.A. in Black Studies from The Ohio State University and Ph.D. in history from Temple University. Dr. Canton is the author of Raymond Pace Alexander: A New Negro Lawyer Fights for Civil Rights in Philadelphia. He is the co-author of Radio Active: A Memoir of Advocacy in Action, on the Air and in the Streets. Currently, he is writing a biography titled Biography of a Black Scholar: Lawrence Dunbar Reddick.