Comment

Gayle's work of history and biography, one of the more acclaimed books of the year, focuses on Edward Preston McCabe, a leading Black figure in the late 1800s U.S. After working for a time on Wall Street, he spent a stint of time in Chicago, working for Potter Palmer, then moved west to the Plains states and entered politics. He became convinced that African Americans had an opportunity in the settlement of the West to establish their own majorities. Long before the Great Migration that brought African Americans from the South to northern cities, he placed advertisements advising Black settlers to move to Colorado, Kansas, and other Plains states. He focused his efforts on Oklahoma as a potential Black state. Gayle explores the dynamics that pitted Black settlers against Native American tribes, only to have lands confiscated for white people by the Federal government. This richly detailed history teems with insights and is sure to interest readers interested in American history.