[T]he reader [of African American Life] is left with a sound piece of anthropological work that provides a solid basis for future research about Memphis's African American communities.

Journal of Southern History

African American Life and Culture in Orange Mound: A Case Study of a Black Community in Memphis, Tennessee, 1890-1980 is a fascinating portrait of a large, black neighborhood that has shaped Memphis in deep, enduring ways. A planned community built on farmland that was once part of the Deaderick Plantation, Orange Mound nurtured and supported generations of black families whose churches and schools defined their worlds. Like all black southern towns, Orange Mound sheltered its families, and Charles Williams captures their worlds in this important work.

William Ferris, University of Mississippi

African American Life and Culture in Orange Mound is an excellent ethnographic study of a black community from its genesis during the last decade of the nineteenth century to near the end of the twentieth century. This study illuminates the lives of Orange Mound residents by allowing them to speak for themselves about how they made this community their own. In probing the lives and institutions within this very important community, Dr. Williams has made a significant contribution to American urban anthropology and history.

Frank Moorer, Alabama State University