Salt City and its Black Community

A robust black professional class has existed in many southern cities since the nineteenth century and in large northern cities, such as Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C., since early in the twentieth century. In contrast, the black professional class in Syracuse, New York, a midsized northern industrial city, developed relatively late and struggled in its early relationship with the white community.

Employing a conflict theory approach, the authors analyze the effects of black migration north, affirmative action, school integration, urban renewal, deindustrialization, political mobilization, and suburbanization on the growth and development of the black community. The authors demonstrate how competition for limited resources has fostered varying degrees of confrontation, social dispute, adjustment, and eventual change in black-white relations.

Drawing upon urban surveys and quantitative research combined with personal testimony, this book offers a richly detailed and compelling portrait of a minority community, providing indispensable insights into the dynamics of community development as a historical and sociological process.