Historian Millington Bergeson-Lockwood, author of Race Over Party: Black Politics and Partisanship in Late Nineteenth-Century Boston, joins us this week to talk about the evolution of partisanship and political loyalty among Boston’s African American community, from just after the Civil War until the turn of the 20th century. It was a period that at first promised political and economic advancement for African Americans, but ended with the rise of lynching and codified Jim Crow laws. It was also a period that began with near universal support for Lincoln’s Republican party among African Americans, with Frederick Douglass commenting “the Republican party is the ship and all else is the sea.” However, after decades of setbacks and roadblocks on the path of progress, many began to question their support of the GOP, and some tried to forge a new, non-partisan path to Black advancement. Dr. Bergeson-Lockwood will tell us how the movement developed and whether it ultimately achieved its goals.
Race over Party
Dr. Millington Bergeson-Lockwood describes 
himself as a “historian of race, politics, and the law in United States history.” Though he completed his PhD at the University of Michigan, he became interested in Boston’s complex history of race and politics while living here as an undergraduate. He joined us from Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to discuss his book Race Over Party: Black Politics and Partisanship in Late Nineteenth-Century Boston.
Here’s how the UNC Press describes the book:
In late nineteenth-century Boston, battles over black party loyalty were fights over the place of African Americans in the post–Civil War nation. In his fresh in-depth study of black partisanship and politics, Millington W. Bergeson-Lockwood demonstrates that party politics became the terrain upon which black Bostonians tested the promise of equality in America’s democracy. Most African Americans remained loyal Republicans, but Race Over Party highlights the actions and aspirations of a cadre of those who argued that the GOP took black votes for granted and offered little meaningful reward for black support. These activists branded themselves “independents,” forging new alliances and advocating support of whichever candidate would support black freedom regardless of party.
By the end of the century, however, it became clear that partisan politics offered little hope for the protection of black rights and lives in the face of white supremacy and racial violence. Even so, Bergeson-Lockwood shows how black Bostonians’ faith in self-reliance, political autonomy, and dedicated organizing inspired future generations of activists who would carry these legacies into the foundation of the twentieth-century civil rights movement.
Upcoming Event
The Partnership of Historic Bostons is a local group focusing on the historical relationship between Boston, Massachusetts and Boston, Lincolnshire. Charter Day is celebrated on September 7, commemorating the day in 1630 when Boston, Dorchester, and Watertown were all officially named. The partnership has a series of lectures and walking tours throughout September and October as part of their celebration, which you can find at .
One of the last events in this year’s series is a talk by Peter Drummey of the Massachusetts Historical Society on October 23 called “PURITANS IN PRINT: Historiography of the Puritans in Literature.” I’ve seen Drummey present a few times at MHS on topics like the relationship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson or the legacy of Abraham Lincoln in Boston, so this should be an event to look forward to.
Here’s how the Partnership describes this one:
From the 1630’s to the 1930’s, the Puritans were stigmatized and chastised in literature as dour, joyless and oppressing. H.L. Menckin’s epigram, “Puritanism is the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy,” summarizes much of the first 300 years of Puritan historiography. But against the background of the Great War, Depression and Prohibition, the heavens began to open and Puritan society was examined in a new light. In 1930, historian S.E. Morison wrote “My attitude toward seventeenth-century puritanism has passed through scorn and boredom to a warm interest and respect.” How did the literary portrayal of the Puritans change, and how does that change help us understand our national history?
Note that even though Mr Drummey works at the Mass Historical Society, that’s not where the talk is being held. It will be held in the Blue Sky Lounge and Commons at Suffolk Law School at 6pm on Wednesday, October 23. Advanced registration is required. While admission is free, donations are deeply appreciated.