Erik McDuffie, an associate professor in the Department of African American Studies and History, was recently awarded the Jon Gjerde Prize for best book in Midwestern History by the Midwestern History Association for his book The Second Battle for Africa: Garveyism, the US Heartland, and Global Black Freedom. The prize is named for Jon Gjerde, a historian of immigration and ethnicity, who made significant contributions to the history of the people of the Midwest.
The committee praised how “McDuffie highlights the history of the deep connections between the Midwest and Garveyism, as much as he ties this past to other historical moments like settlement in the Old Northwest and later the Great Migration. Whereas Garveyism and Black transnational history is often linked to Caribbean intellectuals, McDuffie shows how the UNIA developed within the nation's middle. The Second Battle for Africa uses the framework of the “Diasporic Midwest” to argue for the importance of the region to Black transnationalism.”
They also lauded the book for its consideration of gender dynamics and the contributions of women to Black nationalism and Garveyism. They highlighted how his book reveals the dynamic contributions of Louisa Little in the movement.
The committee praised McDuffie for embracing the “paradoxes of the movement, integrating discussions of settler colonialism and concepts of civilization as important frames to understand Garveyism in the region.”
Overall they said the book pushes back against stereotypes of the Midwest as an isolated and homogenous region and highlights how it is a diverse and globalized space.
McDuffie’s book has also received local, national, and international media attention including WILL’s The 21st, CBC’s Mainstreet NS, and the Black Agenda Report.