By 1867 black San Franciscans had gained access to public transportation. In 1869 they were granted the right to vote by the state of California. In 1875 they fought for desegregated schools and won. Yet in 1957, Willie Mays was initially denied the opportunity to purchase a home in an exclusive San Francisco neighborhood because he was black.

In Black San Francisco, Albert Broussard explores race relations in a city where whites, for the most part, were outwardly civil to blacks while denying them employment opportunities and political power. Understanding the texture of the...

T. McCants Stewart was a prominent African-American in his day, a lawyer during the Reconstruction who later became a minister, politician, and racial activist and was regarded by his peers as one of the most significant black leaders of his generation. This book illuminates the professional career and private lives of Stewart and his descendants over three generations, providing an epic account of an African-American family in America.

Albert Broussard researched Stewart family papers and interviewed nearly every surviving family member to tell their unusual story. He not only presents...