Prairie fires: urban rebellions as black working class politics in three Midwestern cities

Abstract

This study investigates the social, economic and political upheavals caused by the urban rebellions of the 1960s. Using Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Omaha, Nebraska as case studies, this dissertation argues that the uprisings were historically informed acts of resistance, which demonstrated a Midwestern, gendered, and working-class character. Prairie Fires registers the significant impact the rebellions had not only in transforming the consciousness of African Americans but also in altering the relationship between Blacks, urban communities, and the State as well as highlighting class fractures within Black politics. This interpretative lens validates the black urban rebellions not only as legitimate responses to oppression, but part of an American tradition of working class insurrection.