In this exciting revised history, Stephen Tuck follows the black struggle for freedom in all its diversity, from the early years of freedom during the Civil War to the signing of President Obama. As he moves from popular culture to high politics, from the Deep South to New England and California, Tuck weaves gripping stories of everyday black people, as well as recognizable figures, into the fabric of racial protest and social change. The dramatic journey unfolds from an armed march of dock workers in Baltimore after the Civil War to the founding of the Tuskegee Institute by Booker T. Washington, from the race riots after Jack Johnson's "battle of the century" to Rosa Parks's refusal to move to the back of a bus in Montgomery. 'We Ain’t What We Ought To Be' rejects the traditional narrative that recognizes the non-violent civil rights movement in the South as the focal point of the black freedom struggle. Instead, it explores the dynamic relationships between those seeking new freedoms and those wishing to maintain racial hierarchies, as well as between grassroots activists and national leaders. As Tuck shows, strategies ultimately depend on the activists' ability to protest amidst changing economic and political conditions both in the US and abroad. This book captures an extraordinary journey that speaks to all Americans—both of the past and the future.