The struggle for civil rights is an important dynamic in the history of the United States. Much less known is Pottstown’s own special historical role in the fight for civil rights.
In his recently-published book “The Jim Crow North: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Pottstown, Pennsylvania”, Pottstown native Matthew Washington explores small-town racial discrimination, segregation, and the fight for civil rights — not in the South but in the supposedly more enlightened North in the small industrial Pennsylvania community.
Jim Crow-style racial discrimination was not limited to the southern U.S. White resistance to equal rights for Blacks, was deeply embedded in the nation’s social fabric. As practiced throughout the North — including Pottstown — widespread, but unwritten, discriminatory Jim Crow practices existed in housing, employment, educational opportunities, social and civic organizations, bowling leagues, and even access to graveyard space.
What made Pottstown different from other similar-sized northern communities was the dynamism, courage, and commitment of local Black leadership in pursuit of civil rights. Another factor that made Pottstown’s civil rights movement more dynamic was the sustained advocacy on behalf of the Black community — almost unique among the nation’s non-Black print media — of the local newspaper, The Pottstown Mercury, under its founding publisher and editor, Shandy Hill. Hill encouraged and empowered his journalists to conduct investigative reporting, almost unheard of in the print media of that day. “The Jim Crow North” also addresses the struggles against segregation in public accommodations, exclusion from fire companies, and employment “tokenism” in local industry.
Washington is currently professor of history specializing in Black Studies at Prairie View A&M University in Texas. Crafted for an academic readership, his well-researched book is not light reading. However, for those interested in Pottstown history and civil rights issues generally, it is a valuable product.
