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Johnson, George W.
1976.
1975 Annual Supplement.
p.
1.
Article contents
The Black Ghetto 1890—1940
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 January 2009
Extract
The ‘long hot summers’ of the 1960s undoubtedly helped stimulate the growth of black studies in the United States and led to an urgent re-examination of the black ghettoes which have become a feature of every major Northern city. Much of this work, however, has tended to concentrate on the economic, political and sociological problems posed by the ghetto. Historians, for their part, have become increasingly aware of how much research still needs to be done to explain the origins and development of the ghetto, especially in the crucial period between 1890 and 1940. Fortunately the rebirth of black studies has coincided with the emergence of the ‘new urban history’, and when the work of several scholars now in progress reaches fruition we may have a clearer picture of the historical problems posed by the growth of the ghetto. In particular, we should be able to evaluate the speed with which blacks were able to exercize effective political and economic power by comparison with other white ethnic groups.
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