Jeffrey O. G. Ogbar's "America's Black Capital"

Jeffrey O. G. Ogbar is professor of history and founding director of the Center for the Study of Popular Music at the University of Connecticut. He earned his PhD in US history from Indiana University Bloomington and his BA in history from Morehouse College in Atlanta.

Ogbar applied the “Page 99 Test” to his new book, America's Black Capital: How African Americans Remade Atlanta in the Shadow of the Confederacy, and reported the following:

The first full paragraph on page 99 of America’s Black Capital: How African Americans Remade Atlanta in the Shadow of the Confederacy outlines the core thesis and argument of my entire book—which is 457 pages (not counting notes and index):

…what occurred in Atlanta was an especially virulent expression of neo-Confederate politics. The legacy of the Civil War was profound in shaping virtually every aspect of the city’s character. In doing so, there emerged a particularly acute notion of racial subjugation. African Americans responded with ambitious efforts at black self-determination that did not advocate for racial integration of social space. Instead, black leadership, across generations, demanded more in the way of resources for black people than shared resources with whites.

My book, a story of the long arc Atlanta’s history, explores how the Gate City became an important cog in the Confederacy war machine in the Civil War, was left a desolation by Union bombardment and rose like a phoenix in the postbellum era. The city has had many nicknames, but none that reflect how much Atlanta has evolved than “Imperial City” of the Ku Klux Klan (in the 1920s) and the “Black Mecca” (after the early 1970s). Today, the former Confederate stronghold has more black millionaires and black-owned businesses per capita than any city in the country. The book explores how we arrive at the latest moniker from a city that was once the “heart” of the Confederacy.

Until this exercise, I had never heard of this “page 99 test.” In fact, when I first learned of it, I thought it was highly improbable and so random that it could not possibly apply to this book of eleven chapters and over 450 pages. I was clearly surprised that the 99th page captures the central argument of my book! I will be curious about the 99th page of books throughout my library now!

Learn more about America's Black Capital at the Basic Books website.

--Marshal Zeringue