Building the Black City: The Transformation of American Life
by Joe William Trotter, Jr.
University of California Press, 2024
[Publication date: October 29, 2024]
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
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
REVIEWS:
From the Back Cover
"A timely, consequential work from one of our greatest historians, Building the Black City is a reparative justice and urban historical tour de force."—Marcus Anthony Hunter, author of Radical Reparations: Healing the Soul of a Nation
"In this masterful new study, preeminent historian Joe William Trotter, Jr., provides an unflinching look at how Black people built and navigated urban spaces from the colonial period to the present. While acknowledging the devastating toll that slavery, segregation, and mass incarceration have wrought in Black communities, Trotter boldly insists that our nation can never eradicate racism and implement restorative justice until we look beyond suffering—until we fully appreciate the strength, creativity, and determination of a people who unceasingly sought to make a place for themselves in the United States. In this expansive study, Trotter powerfully reminds us that Black people built cities not only to create home, community, and a sense of permanence, but also to fight against white supremacy itself."—Leslie M. Alexander, author of African or American? Black Identity and Political Activism in New York City, 1784–1861
"Trotter offers a capacious view of the building of the Black city from the colonial era to the present, emphasizing the creativity, resilience, and resourcefulness of its residents. He explores regional variations related to the struggles for equal citizenship, property ownership, public education, and vibrant religious and cultural institutions. A superb addition to U.S. urban history."—Jacqueline Jones, author of No Right to an Honest Living: The Struggles of Boston's Black Workers in the Civil War Era
"As grand, dynamic, and rich as the story itself, Trotter's voluminous study of Black urban life does not disappoint. Beyond a simple cataloging of urban racism or moments of resilience, this work dives deep into the complex and even contested machinations of what he calls Black city-building. This is urban history at its finest by one of the finest to ever do it."—Davarian L. Baldwin, author of Chicago's New Negroes: Modernity, the Great Migration, and Black Urban Life
"In this masterful new study, preeminent historian Joe William Trotter, Jr., provides an unflinching look at how Black people built and navigated urban spaces from the colonial period to the present. While acknowledging the devastating toll that slavery, segregation, and mass incarceration have wrought in Black communities, Trotter boldly insists that our nation can never eradicate racism and implement restorative justice until we look beyond suffering—until we fully appreciate the strength, creativity, and determination of a people who unceasingly sought to make a place for themselves in the United States. In this expansive study, Trotter powerfully reminds us that Black people built cities not only to create home, community, and a sense of permanence, but also to fight against white supremacy itself."—Leslie M. Alexander, author of African or American? Black Identity and Political Activism in New York City, 1784–1861
"Trotter offers a capacious view of the building of the Black city from the colonial era to the present, emphasizing the creativity, resilience, and resourcefulness of its residents. He explores regional variations related to the struggles for equal citizenship, property ownership, public education, and vibrant religious and cultural institutions. A superb addition to U.S. urban history."—Jacqueline Jones, author of No Right to an Honest Living: The Struggles of Boston's Black Workers in the Civil War Era
"As grand, dynamic, and rich as the story itself, Trotter's voluminous study of Black urban life does not disappoint. Beyond a simple cataloging of urban racism or moments of resilience, this work dives deep into the complex and even contested machinations of what he calls Black city-building. This is urban history at its finest by one of the finest to ever do it."—Davarian L. Baldwin, author of Chicago's New Negroes: Modernity, the Great Migration, and Black Urban Life
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.
