Elusive Utopia: The Struggle for Racial Equality in Oberlin, Ohio

Elusive Utopia is a history of race relations in Oberlin, Ohio from its founding in 1833 through the early 1920s. It is the culmination of decades of study by its authors Gary J. Kornblith and Carol Lasser, both of whom are emeritus professors of history at Oberlin College. Their new book offers a significant widening of scope in our understanding of Oberlin in several ways. First, it expands the investigation of race relations in Oberlin beyond a focus on the progressive interracial college for which Oberlin is famous, taking into consideration the trajectory of race relations in the larger town