Based on the latest research, this work provides a new look at the lives of African Americans in the Western United States, from the colonial era to the present.From colonial times to the present, this volume captures the experiences of the westward migration of African Americans.

Series Introduction, Scott C. Zeman, Preface, Maps, 1 The African American West: Getting Started, Defining the West, Why Study the West?, Americans of African Descent, About This Book, 2 Frontiers of Slavery and Freedom, 1815–1865, Slavery on the Early Frontier, The Community Impulse, Black Individualism, Texas and Slavery, Indian Territory and Slavery, The Mexican War, The California Gold Rush, The Slavery Cases and Colored Conventions, Beyond the West of Bondage?, The West and the Civil War, Conclusion, Bibliographic Essay, 3 Trailblazers in the New West, 1866–1890, The Cowboys, Soldiering West, To Kansas!, Oklahoma, The Black Towns, The Rise of the Urban West, Building "Community", Bibliographic Essay, Seeking Freedom in the West, 1890–1920, A Different Kind of Black Experience, The South in Crisis, The "Talented Tenth" Migration, The Great Migration, No Rush Westward, Community Life in the Black West, The Afro-American Council, The Colored Women's Clubs, The Rise of the NAACP, World War I, Bibliographic Essay, 5 Between the World Wars, 1920–1940, The Tulsa Race Riot, The Second Ku Klux Klan, Garveyism out West, The New Negro Renaissance, The NAACP Convention of 1928, The Great Depression and the New Deal, Bibliographic Essay, 6 World War II and the Great Transformation, The Defense Economy, The Second Great Migration, The Role of the Federal Government, Race and Organized Labor, The Port Chicago Disaster, The Housing Crisis, Liberty Ships, Bibliographic Essay, 7 The Era of Racial Liberalism, 1945–1965, An Even Greater Migration, The Housing Crises, Fighting for Civil Rights, Direct-Action Protests, Direct Action in the West, Sports and Entertainment, The Political Arena, Bibliographic Essay, 8 The Era of Black Nationalism, 1965–1980, The Black West as Trendsetter, Rebellion in Watts, The Aftermath, "Black Power!", Karenga and Kwanzaa, The Black Panthers, Angela Davis and Che-Lumumba, Civil Rights in the West (continued …), The Electoral Arena, The 1968 Olympic Games, Blacks and Hollywood, Conclusion, Bibliographic Essay, 9 The African American West since 1980: Decline and Success, The Urban Crisis, The Rodney King Beating, The L.A. Riot, Gangsta Rap, Willie Brown: Political Star, Sports as the Great Equalizer?, Suburbanization, Leaving the West, Bibliographic Essay, 10 Historiography and Current Issues, The Historiography of the Black West, A New Wave of Multiracial History?, A "Minority Majority"?, Chronology, Glossary, Selected Bibliography, Index, About the Author,

"An interpretative rather than an encyclopedic reference, Flamming’s (Bound for Freedom) historical guide offers an energetic narrative illuminating the lives of pioneering African Americans, from Colonial-era Afro-Spaniards to African Americans who moved West following the two modern-era Great Migrations. Maps detailing geographical delineations, general migration patterns, and regional ethnic concentrations open the book. The ten subsequent chronologically organized chapters trace the movement of African Americans from Revolutionary-era slavery to freedom through the social upheavals of the 1960s, the nationalist movements of the 1970s, and issues of the contemporary period. A vital companion to William Loren Katz’s pictorial history, The Black West." - Library Journal

From slaves fleeing bondage in the western territories to African American cowboys and Buffalo Soldiers riding the range during the post-Civil War era to the mass migrations to western cities during World War II, African Americans played an important role in the development of the Western U.S. But did the West really deliver a life of greater freedom and opportunity?