From Enslavement to COVID-19

A History of African American Health and Labor

Joe William Trotter Jr.

$229

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

The University of North Carolina Press
07 October 2025

Urban communities; Ethnic minorities & multicultural studies; Trade unions; Industrial arbitration & negotiation; Health systems & services

During the COVID- 9 pandemic, commentators opined that the high concentration of African Americans in dangerous and unsafe work and living environments exposed them to the virus at higher and more deadly rates than their Euro-American counterparts. In From Enslavement to COVID- 9, Joe William Trotter Jr. delves into the historical context of this phenomenon. Focusing on four historical periods—enslavement, emancipation, the industrial era, and the digital age—Trotter argues that rather than being anomalous, the fight for adequate health care and beneficial social service policies follows a similar trajectory as the movement of Black people from enslavement to freedom. The book emphasizes how the labor requirements of work shaped the African American encounter with disease

how white medical professionals developed stereotypes about the susceptibility of Black people to sickness

and how those professionals denied essential medical care to the country's most vulnerable. Trotter also highlights how people of African descent drew on their legacy of activism and community-building to improve their physical and mental conditions, creating programs and strategies to combat inequality and discrimination in the nation's health care system.

By: Joe William Trotter Jr.
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Country of Publication: United States [Currently unable to ship to USA: see Shipping Info]
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 25mm, Spine: 155mm
ISBN: 9781469690841
ISBN 10: 1469690845
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 07 October 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Joe William Trotter Jr. is Giant Eagle University Professor of History and Social Justice at Carnegie Mellon University.