Review by Choice Review
Delmont's excellent book is a model of how reality deconstructs the myths with which society constructs memories of the past. The myth in this case is that Dick Clark and his powerful American Bandstand television show was a leader in resolving racial conflicts and encouraging integration in Philadelphia. Using both primary sources and the research of other scholars, the author lays out the context and conflicts that caused African American youth to be excluded from American Bandstand performances and caused Clark to resist change until economic incentives made change attractive. Delmont (Scripps College) details well how the stresses in Philadelphia school integration, changes in media marketing, community spokesmen for and against racial equality, rival African American shows, echoes from southern civil rights confrontations, and cultural differences when the show moved to California in 1964 influenced Clark. Delmont also covers how later shows helped create too-optimistic memories for young Americans who had no real memory of the civil rights struggle at the time of American Bandstand's ascendance. The book's thoroughness make it a slow read, but its comprehensive revelation of the complexity of reality offers a valuable understanding of the role of myths, American Bandstand, and the melding of African Americans into the national youth culture. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels/libraries. J. H. Smith Wake Forest University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
