The Mississippi Chinese

The Mississippi Chinese: Between Black and White is a non-fiction book by James W. Loewen, published by Harvard University Press in 1971. It is about Chinese Americans in the Mississippi Delta.

Background

Loewen had asked survey subjects to fill out questionnaires and provide interviews.

Contents

Loewen explained how the Chinese in the Mississippi Delta upgraded their standing in the racial hierarchy over time.

More than half of the content of the book concerns the era from the 1940s to 1971.

Reception

Robert Blauner of the University of California, Berkeley described the book as "excellent on many counts." Blauner also praised the "excellent analysis of [the ethnic Chinese's] economic survival and prosperity".

Roger Daniels of the State University of New York, Fredonia wrote that the work is a "useful monograph" that describes things "intelligently" though he argued that the information on where the Mississippi Chinese came from is presented in a "less than satisfactory way".

George K. Hesslink of Pomona College described the book as "intriguing" with "unique data" and "more than occasional bursts of insight and fascinating analysis." Hesslink criticized how the work does not sufficiently use "theoretical context" in the structure of racial hierarchies, a "quite sketchy and, frankly, occasionally opaque" discourse on methodology, "inconsistent presentation of basic data", and often choosing to disregard "intellectual traditions from which the work stems."

Lucie Cheng Hirata of University of California, Los Angeles wrote that "the book is worth reading" and that Loewen did "an important service" due to opposing the idea that racism is a phenomenon of lower socioeconomic classes rather than higher socioeconomic classes. Hirata criticized some of the perceived "stereotypic notions and images about the Chinese."

See also

• Lotus Among the Magnolias

References

• Blauner, Robert (1973). "The Mississippi Chinese: Between Black and White". American Journal of Sociology. 79 (2): 486–487. doi:10.1086/225571.
• Daniels, Roger (1972). "The Mississippi Chinese: Between Black and White". The Journal of American History. 59 (2): 433. doi:10.2307/1890231. JSTOR 1890231.
• Hesslink, George K. (1973). "The Mississippi Chinese: Between Black and White". Contemporary Sociology. 2 (6): 640–642. doi:10.2307/2062477. JSTOR 2062477.
• Hirata, Lucie Cheng (1974-09-01). "Book Review: The Mississippi Chinese—Between Black and White". International Migration Review. 8 (3): 452–454. doi:10.1177/019791837400800323. S2CID 149694404. - Profile page

Further reading

• Barth, Gunther (1973). "The Mississippi Chinese: Between Black and White". Agricultural History. 47 (2): 170.
• Chalmers, David M. (1972). "The Mississippi Chinese. Between Black and White". The Journal of Asian Studies. 31 (4): 922–923. doi:10.2307/2052113. JSTOR 2052113. S2CID 162930505.
• Miller, Michael H. (1973). "The Mississippi Chinese: Between Black and White". Social Forces. 51 (3): 388–389.
• Saxton, Alexander (1973). "Loewen, The Mississippi Chinese: Between Black and White (Book Review)". The Journal of Ethnic Studies. 1 (2): 77. ProQuest 1300552483.
• Wagatsuma, Hiroshi (1973-01-01). "Book Reviews : The Mississippi Chinese : Between Black and White: By JAMES W. LOEWEN (Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, Oxford University Press, 1972). 237 pp. £4.75". Race & Class. 14 (3): 358–360. doi:10.1177/030639687301400319. S2CID 144539468.

Offline:

• Harris, William C. (1972). "The Mississippi Chinese: Between Black and White". The Journal of Southern History. 38 (3): 520–521. doi:10.2307/2206140. JSTOR 2206140.
• Hudson, Gossie Harold (1972). "The Mississippi Chinese: Between Black and White". The Historian. 35 (1): 144–145.