Building the Black City: The Transformation of American Life
A new way of seeing Black history—the sweeping story of how American cities as we know them developed from the vision, aspirations, and actions of the Black poor.
 
Building the Black City shows how African Americans built and rebuilt thriving cities for themselves, even as their unpaid and underpaid labor enriched the nation's economic, political, and cultural elites. Covering an incredible range of cities from the North to the South, the East to the West, Joe William Trotter, Jr., traces the growth of Black cities and political power from the preindustrial era to the present.
 
Trotter defines the Black city as a complicated socioeconomic, spiritual, political, and spatial process, unfolding time and again as Black communities carved out urban space against the violent backdrop of recurring assaults on their civil and human rights—including the right to the city. As we illuminate the destructive depths of racial capitalism and how Black people have shaped American culture, politics, and democracy, Building the Black City reminds us that the case for reparations must also include a profound appreciation for the creativity and productivity of African Americans on their own behalf.

Cities covered: Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Richmond, Birmingham, Durham, Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Tulsa, early New York (New Amsterdam), Philadelphia, Boston Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Seattle
1145186664
Building the Black City: The Transformation of American Life
A new way of seeing Black history—the sweeping story of how American cities as we know them developed from the vision, aspirations, and actions of the Black poor.
 
Building the Black City shows how African Americans built and rebuilt thriving cities for themselves, even as their unpaid and underpaid labor enriched the nation's economic, political, and cultural elites. Covering an incredible range of cities from the North to the South, the East to the West, Joe William Trotter, Jr., traces the growth of Black cities and political power from the preindustrial era to the present.
 
Trotter defines the Black city as a complicated socioeconomic, spiritual, political, and spatial process, unfolding time and again as Black communities carved out urban space against the violent backdrop of recurring assaults on their civil and human rights—including the right to the city. As we illuminate the destructive depths of racial capitalism and how Black people have shaped American culture, politics, and democracy, Building the Black City reminds us that the case for reparations must also include a profound appreciation for the creativity and productivity of African Americans on their own behalf.

Cities covered: Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Richmond, Birmingham, Durham, Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Tulsa, early New York (New Amsterdam), Philadelphia, Boston Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Seattle
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Building the Black City: The Transformation of American Life

Building the Black City: The Transformation of American Life

by Joe William Trotter Jr.
Building the Black City: The Transformation of American Life

Building the Black City: The Transformation of American Life

by Joe William Trotter Jr.

Overview

A new way of seeing Black history—the sweeping story of how American cities as we know them developed from the vision, aspirations, and actions of the Black poor.
 
Building the Black City shows how African Americans built and rebuilt thriving cities for themselves, even as their unpaid and underpaid labor enriched the nation's economic, political, and cultural elites. Covering an incredible range of cities from the North to the South, the East to the West, Joe William Trotter, Jr., traces the growth of Black cities and political power from the preindustrial era to the present.
 
Trotter defines the Black city as a complicated socioeconomic, spiritual, political, and spatial process, unfolding time and again as Black communities carved out urban space against the violent backdrop of recurring assaults on their civil and human rights—including the right to the city. As we illuminate the destructive depths of racial capitalism and how Black people have shaped American culture, politics, and democracy, Building the Black City reminds us that the case for reparations must also include a profound appreciation for the creativity and productivity of African Americans on their own behalf.

Cities covered: Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Richmond, Birmingham, Durham, Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Tulsa, early New York (New Amsterdam), Philadelphia, Boston Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Seattle

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780520344419
Publisher: University of California Press
Publication date: 10/29/2024
Edition description: First Edition
Pages: 304
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Joe William Trotter, Jr., is Giant Eagle University Professor of History and Social Justice, Director and Founder of Carnegie Mellon University's Center for Africanamerican Urban Studies and the Economy (CAUSE), and author of Workers on Arrival: Black Labor in the Making of America.

Table of Contents

Contents

List of Illustrations 
Acknowledgments

Introduction: Framing the Black City-Building Process 

PART ONE 
SOUTH, SOUTHEAST, AND SOUTHWEST 
1 • Majority and Near-Majority Black Cities 
2 • City-Building on the Middle Ground 
3 • Forging the New South City 
4 • On the Edges of the Deep South 

PART TWO
NORTHEAST, MIDWEST, AND WEST 
5 • Building Their Own “City on the Hill” 
6 • Establishing the Industrial Metropolis 
7 • Constructing the Black City under “That Open Sky” 
Conclusion: Reflections on the Postindustrial Age 

Notes 
Selected Bibliography 
Index 
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