About the Author

Theodore Kornweibel, Jr., is a professor emeritus in African American history at San Diego State University and author of Investigate Everything: Federal Efforts to Compel Black Loyalty during World War I; Seeing Red: Federal Campaigns against Black Militancy, 1919-1925; and No Crystal Stair: Black Life and the Messenger , 1917-1928.

Reviews

A major new work..., Railroads in the African American Experience: A Photographic Journey, is about the entire African-American railroading experience-not just the porters, but the relatively unknown and unsung, too... destined to become a standard reference for years to come. -- Peter A. Hansen Railroad History Railroads in the African American Experience is worth a trip to your local independent book store... This inspirational masterpiece is about survival, overcoming adversity, and the triumph of the human spirit. -- Samuel Augustus Jennings RAIL Magazine A. Philip Randolph and the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters may not get the same play as, say, Rosa Parks, but they were no less important in the Civil Rights struggle. This handsome volume implicitly makes that point... Kornweibel writes with the meticulous sweep of a historian, and hundreds of amazing photographs and related ephemera help tell the story. -- John Lewis Baltimore Magazine Kornweibel's prose and pictures bring to life the generations of southern blacks who built the railroads of the South-and sometimes pulled themselves out of poverty. -- Nancy R. Davison Internet Review of Books Theodore Kornweibel, Jr. covers so much ground in Railroads in the African American Experience: A Photographic Journey that it is virtually impossible to touch upon it all here. And that just might be the point. At the end of the day this is a book that is an extremely important addition to the literature on both the history of African-Americans in this country and to the history of American railroads as well... meticulously researched and quite well written. Lunch.com The historic relationship between U.S. railroads and African-Americans has never been so carefully or comprehensively documented as in this book... Kornweibel's scholarship is the foundation of this book, but it's also fair to describe it as a rich pictorial history. -- Kevin P. Keefe Trains With telling detail, Kornweibel both informs and shocks readers. -- James D. Porterfield Railfan and Railroad African-Americans and railroads have grown up with each other in an epic story, comprehensively documented in this beautiful new book... Here you'll find a wealth of rare glass-plate-negative prints, railroad publicity photos, family pictures, and the work of several noted photographers, interwoven with historical art and illustrations, some in color. Some of the art is shocking in its depiction of racism in its rawest form. Classic Trains Kornweibel presents a remarkable, compelling interpretation of how African Americans experienced the great American railway scene... Deserves an important place in college and university libraries that support programs in African American studies, American studies, and modern history... Rail fans in particular will find it both interesting and provoking. Choice The Kornweibel book is outstanding, describing and analyzing thoroughly and skillfully the black experience in American railroading... Kornweibel has also done an excellent job of collecting illustrations, adding much to his splendid narrative... The illustrations, however, are merely the icing on an already delicious cake. -- H. Roger Grant Register of the Kentucky Historical Society A powerful book. -- Allen W. Trelease North Carolina Historical Review Kornweibel sets the standard for exploring black railroad history, producing a book welcome to both the railroad enthusiast and the student of American race relations. This handsome volume will certainly inspire valuable historical research on the subject in the years to come. -- Guy Lancaster Southwestern Historical Quarterly Railroads in the African American Experience is a beautifully produced volume whose text and illustrations deserve to find a wide popular readership. -- Eric Arnesen Journal of Illinois History Kornweibel offers an impressive one-volume work on black life and the railroad. It will be a standard in the field for years to come. -- John M. Giggie Journal of Southern History Reading this book was a real eye opener and Theodore Kornweibel is to be commended for his exhaustive research and excellent presentation. -- David J. Mrozek The Michigan Railfan