"This study . . . is a landmark by any standards. It is thorough, wide-ranging, and well written, and clearly reflects the kind of insights that make it a classic. It is as relevant today as it was when it was first published." —John Hope Franklin
A pioneering history of African Americans in a northern state from their first arrival in the eighteenth century, this classic study covers their developing legal and economic status, efforts against white racism, and the founding of distinctive African American institutions: fraternal, social, and charitable organizations; churches; schools. An epilogue surveys developments in the twentieth century.