Development Arrested

A reinterpretation of the two-centuries old conflict between the African- Americans and planters in the Mississippi Delta, this volume presents a study of the history and social structures of the plantation system. It examines both planter domination of politics and economy in the region.

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Development Arrested is a major reinterpretation of the two-centuries-old conflict between the African Americans and planters in the Mississippi Delta. Woods traces the decline and resurrection of plantation ideology in national public policy debates, showing the ways in which African Americans in the Delta have continued to push forward their agenda for social and economic justice despite having suffered countless defeats under the planter regime. Woods interweaves the role of music in sustaining their efforts, surveying a musical tradition that embraced a radical vision of social change.