Born along the Color Line: The 1933 Amenia Conference and the Rise of a National Civil Rights Movement
"[A] meticulous and altogether beautifully composed study of people and ideas . I must begin by noting how gifted Miller is at mining the gold dust of details that take us inside a temperament and personality-not just within 'a mind.'  Miller has written a book that deserves to be both carefully read and deeply admired." --American Historical Review"Miller does an excellent job of portraying his protagonists and reconstructing their ideas and debates." --Journal of American History"Eben Miller centers his terrific new book on a glorious estate in the Hudson River Valley at the height of summer 1933.  In that unlikely spot, he uncovers a crossroad in the long, hard struggle for civil rights, a place where the movement pivoted.Born along the Color Lineis a marvelous piece of historical recreation, original, engaging, and enlightening."-Kevin Boyle, author ofArc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age"In this creative and engaging account of a pivotal moment in the history of the NAACP, Eben Miller captures the organizational vibrancy and ideological diversity of the nation's leading civil rights organization.  Through the biographies of the young black men and women who vigorously debated strategies for combating segregation and racial inequality at the NAACP's Amenia Conference,Born along the Color Lineeffectively recovers the diverse and often competing political currents informing civil rights activism prior to the rise of the modern civil rights movement."-Eric Arnesen, The George Washington University"Eben Miller's well-researched and interpretively soundBorn along the Color Lineis a major contribution to 20th-century civil rights literature.  This may not be the last word on the significance of the second Amenia Conference, but any further scholarship will begin with his."-David Levering Lewis, author ofDu Bois: A Biography"With his warm biographical portraits and finely honed interpretations Eben Miller has cast a new and valuable light on the generation of black activists and intellectuals who paved the way for the great legal and social victories of the 1950s and 60s.Born along the Color Lineshould be required reading for anyone who hopes to claim expertise in the history of the modern civil rights movement." -Jonathan Holloway, Yale University