Synopses & Reviews
This book explores the many facets of black urban life from its genesis in the 18th century to the present time. With some historical background, the volume is primarily a contemporary critique, focusing on the major themes which have arisen and the challenges the confront African Americans as they create communities: political economy, religion and spirituality, health care, education, protest, and popular culture. The essays all examine the interplay between culture and politics, and the ways in which forms of cultural expression and political participation have changed over the past century to serve the needs of the black urban community. The collection closes with analysis of current struggles these communities face - joblessness, political discontent, frustrations with health care and urban schools - and the ways in which communities are responding to these challenges.
Review
"This is an articulate, informative and thorough reader. Students will find it be a model of scholarly research that provides an excellent overview of urban politics. One that contributes to their intellectual growth as well as that of the field. There is nothing like it in the field."--Hanes Walton, Jr., The University of Michigan
"This edited volume responds to a vacuum in the literature regarding various facets of race and urban neighborhoods. The chapters weave history, theory, and empirical studies that shed light on the persistence of race in urban spaces. The collection shows how class and gender, culture, and politics mold, and are molded, by public policies. This will become a key addition to the literature on race, public policy, and urban communities."--James Jennings, Tufts University
"Gayle Tate and Lewis Randolph have assembled a fascinating collection of essays that vividly convey the complexity and dilemmas faced by the African-American community. The essays examine topics ranging from the historical to the socio-cultural context of their lives. Everyone who is concerned with the future of America's race relations should read these essays."--Wilbur C. Rich, Wellesley College
"A rich, multidimensional collection... Highly recommended." —CHOICE
Synopsis
This book explores the challenges which have confronted African Americans as they develop urban communities.
About the Author
Gayle Tate is Associate Professor of Political Science in the African Studies Department at Rutgers University. The is the co-editor with Lewis Randolph of Dimensions of Black Conservatism (Palgrave 2002). Lewis Randolph is Professor of Political Science at Ohio University.
Table of Contents
I: Origins, Protest, & Black Community * Civilization and Its Discontents: Black Life in the Eighteenth Century Cities of British North America--Rhett Jones * Memories of Hayti: African American Community in Durham, North Carolina, 1890-1970--Oscar R. Williams * Discovering an African American Planning History--Joan Fitzgerald & William D. Howard * Historic Designation and the Preservation of Public Housing--Mittie Chandler *
II: Urban Political Economy & Black Communities * Entering the New City as Men and Women, Not Mules--Jessica Gordon Nembhard * “Faces at the Bottom of the Well”: African American Poverty and the Post-Industrial City at the Beginning of the Twenty-First Century--Frank Harold Wilson * African/Asian/Uptown/Downtown: An Exploration of African Trading Networks in New York City--Paul Stoller * Globalization, Cities, and Racial Inequality: Dont Believe the Hype--James B. Stewart *
III: Religion, Spirituality, & Faith * “The Pupil of the Eye:” African Americans and the Making of the American Bahai Community, 1898-2003--Richard W. Thomas * Varieties of Black Urban Spiritual Experience--Yvonne P. Chireau * The Leadership of Reverend Robert L. Bradby and the Black Community in East Industrial Detroit--Julia Robinson Harmon *
IV: Politics & Policies of Health Care, Disease, & Drugs * Drugs, Race and State Power: The Urban Terrain--Rae Banks * AIDS and the Black Community--Cathy J. Cohen * The War on Drugs and Welfare Policy: The Impact of their Intersection on Black Women in Urban America--Julia S. Jordan-Zachery *
V: Urban Education: A Historical Lens * African Americans Strive for Educational Self-Determination in Cincinnati, Ohio before 1873--Nikki Taylor * In Whose Interest: Chicago Schools in the 1960s--Dionne Danns *
VI: Political Protest & Electoral Politics * Robert Wagner, Milton Galamison & the Challenge to New York City Liberalism--Clarence Taylor * From the North to the Deep South: The Civil Rights Journey of the Freedom Riders--David Niven * The Justice Department and the Voting Rights Act: Policy Consequences in Southern Cities--Keesha M. Middlemass * The Continuing Significance of Race: African American & Hispanic Mayors, 1967-2002--Neil Kraus & Todd Swanstrom * Changing Demographics and the Nature of Politics in New York: African Americans, Caribbeans, and Latinos in the 2001-2002 Election--Charles Green & Basil Wilson * Black Mayors in Large Cities: An Historical Perspective--Marcus D. Pohlmann *
VII: Popular Culture, Political Expression & the Spoken Word * The Black Panther Party, Poetry Performance and Revolution--Regina Jennings * Panthers and Dragons: The Afro-Asian Dynamic in the Black Arts Movement--Crystal S. Anderson * The Diasporic Imagination of Wynton Marsalis--David W. Stowe * Hip-Hop Soul Mates? Construction of Gender and Dialogues on Relationship in Rap Music--Gwendolyn Pough * Hip-Hop as Political Expression: Potentialities for the Power of Voice in Urban America--Melina Abdullah