Affirmative action ended the longstanding coalition between American Jews and blacks, claimed Detroit mayor Coleman Young in 1980 after many national Jewish groups filed amicus briefs challenging affirmative action in two Supreme Court cases. But as Greenberg notes in this smart and comprehensive analysis, Young's statement was far from accurate. Not only was the "great coalition" a complicated mixture of social and political alliances but the "divide" over affirmative action was never decisive. A professor of history at Trinity College, she uncovers new material—in the early 1940s the Anti-Defamation League spied on and reported to law enforcement officials on black organizations and newspapers it felt were sympathetic to the Axis powers—and never shies away from sensitive issues. Committed to exploring the historical complexity of the black-Jewish relationship in a balanced way, Greenberg notes, for instance, that Southern Jews were reluctant to integrate but also mentions their well-founded fears of anti-Semitic retaliation. As for the failure of the black-Jewish alliance, Greenberg notes the rise of identity politics, "with its rejection of pluralism," as a factor. Greenberg's is one of the best of a spate of new books on this topic, with her fine research and careful delineation of the facts.
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[Greenberg's] smart and comprehensive analysis . . . is one of the best of a spate of new books on this topic, with her fine research and careful delineation of the facts. -- Publishers Weekly
The vexed topic of black-Jewish relations in 20th-century America requires a brave writer, and Greenberg confronts the issue with honesty and dedication. While she provides ample evidence that the golden age of cooperation between the two groups wasn't as harmonious as generally believed, she also provides numerous examples of cohesion during the more fraught times. Greenberg is not only adept at uncovering little-known controversies and victories; her brief exposition of the famous New York City teachers' strike in the late 1960s, an incident widely credited with bringing to a boil simmering black-Jewish tensions, is a masterpiece of compression and insight. -- Atlantic Monthly
Greenberg's most impressive achievement is the way she weaves the story of black-Jewish relations into the larger history of American liberalism in the twentieth century...While the likelihood of another 'golden age' of black-Jewish relations seems remote, what is certain is that Greenberg's book will be essential reading for anyone interested in this complex relationship and in the history of American liberalism more broadly. -- Eric L. Goldstein, American Historical Review
Troubling the Waters gives textured life to more than 100 years of civil rights efforts and offers a window into the complex, political decision-making of courageous and often admirable individuals. -- Jane Gordon, Diverse
[Cheryl Greenberg] provides extremely detailed histories of Jewish and African American civil rights efforts, together and as separate communities. . . . [F]or the scholar and political tactician, the volume is a goldmine of information. . . . [T]his book is likely to become one of the classic histories of black-Jewish relations in the United States. -- Jewish Book World
Greenberg's is one of the best of a spate of new books on this topic, with her fine research and careful delineation of the facts. -- Press-Enterprise
Essential reading for understanding ethnic/race relations and Jewish identity. . . . Greenberg offers the best study on black-Jewish relations and one that will stand as a classic in the field. -- Ronald H. Bayor, Southern Jewish History
Cheryl Greenberg's view is that Black and Jewish interests and priorities have been fundamentally different all along but did, during a particular period, overlap sufficiently. . . . Cheryl Greenberg has certainly helped to provide . . . a clearer understanding [of the Black-Jewish relationship] with this well-written, well-researched book, which is chock full of information and sensible analysis by a thoughtful, sensitive, and sympathetic writer. -- Yankl Stillman, Jewish Currents
Greenberg's history is both synthetic and original, especially in its coverage of the last thirty-five years. . . .
Troubling the Waters is a painstakingly researched, impressively documented, well-written, and important contribution to the field. -- Dominic J. Capeci Jr., Journal of American History
[Greenberg's] book is lucid in its exposition, balanced in its tone, and generous in its sympathies. Writing from a resolutely liberal perspective, she has built upon and outclasses all previous scholarship on the history of the black-Jewish encounter in twentieth-century America. -- Stephen J. Whitfield, Jewish History
Cheryl Greenberg's book stands as an exemplar of scholarship not just in American Jewish history and in African American history, but also in the history of American liberalism which in many ways is the key force which dominates the narrative here. -- Hasia R. Diner, Modernism/Modernity
In
Troubling the Waters: Black Jewish Relations in the American Century, Greenberg has done more than write a book that will be of interest to students of Jewish-American history or the African American experience. She has instead produced a work--ambitious in scope and thoughtful in tone--that will be of enormous value to those interested in the broader history of postwar America and the rise of modern liberalism. -- Alan Petigny, Reviews in American History
[A]n admirably balanced, fairly unsentimental account of a former entente. Greenberg . . . approaches the topic with eyes wide open in an attempt to plumb its complexities. -- Sheldon Kirschner, Canadian Jewish News
Troubling the Waters is the most complete attempt to unravel the complicated history of black-Jewish relations during the 20th century. -- Edward S. Shapiro, Congress Monthly
