A Covenant with Color: Race and Social Power in Brooklyn

A Covenant with Color: Race and Social Power in Brooklyn

Spanning three centuries of Brooklyn history from the colonial period to the present, A Covenant with Color exposes the intricate relations of dominance and subordination that have long characterized the relative social positions of white and black Brooklynites. Craig Steven Wilderâ€•examining both quantitative and qualitative evidence and utilizing cutting-edge literature on race theoryâ€•demonstrates how ideas of race were born, how they evolved, and how they were carried forth into contemporary society.

In charting the social history of one of the nation's oldest urban locales, Wilder contends that power relationsâ€•in all their complexityâ€•are the starting point for understanding Brooklyn's turbulent racial dynamics. He spells out the workings of powerâ€•its manipulation of resources, whether in the form of unfree labor, privileges of citizenship, better jobs, housing, government aid, or access to skilled trades. Wilder deploys an extraordinary spectrum of evidence to illustrate the mechanics of power that have kept African American Brooklynites in subordinate positions: from letters and diaries to family papers of Kings County's slaveholders, from tax records to the public archives of the Home Owners Loan Corporation.

Wilder illustrates his points through a variety of cases, including banking interests, the rise of Kings County's colonial elite, industrialization and slavery, race-based distribution of federal money in jobs, and mortgage loans during and after the Depression. He delves into the evolution of the Brooklyn ghetto, tracing how housing segregation corralled African Americans in Bedford-Stuyvesant. The book explores colonial enslavement, the rise of Jim Crow, labor discrimination and union exclusion, and educational inequality. Throughout, Wilder uses Brooklyn as a lens through which to view larger issues of race and power on a national level.

One of the few recent attempts to provide a comprehensive history of race relations in an American city, A Covenant with Color is a major contribution to urban history and the history of race and class in America.
Country USA
Brand Columbia University Press
Manufacturer Columbia University Press
Binding Paperback
UnitCount 1
EANs 9780231119078
ReleaseDate 2002-01-05

Country	USA
Brand	Columbia University Press
Manufacturer	Columbia University Press
Binding	Paperback
UnitCount	1
EANs	9780231119078
ReleaseDate	2002-01-05

A Covenant with Color: Race and Social Power in Brooklyn

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