Harvest of American Racism by Unknown

Harvest of American Racism by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: University of Michigan Press


NO

III.

Atlanta B

New Haven D

Grand Rapids B

Tampa B

New Brunswick A

IV.

Rockford D

Tucson D

Phoenix C

Note: The capital letters (A,B,C,D) following each city name refer to the intensity/duration coding used in the Calendars of Disturbances in 1967 in Appendix A, with ā€œAā€ being the most intense and long-lasting, and ā€œDā€ of lower intensity and short duration.

This scheme or typology is descriptive rather than explanatory. Why a city falls into one box rather than another is probably a function of a great many factors, such as the ethnic composition of the city, its economic and political character, the scope and the intensity of the disturbance experienced, and more remote factors such as its local and regional history and geography. Nevertheless, an examination of the different groups of cities does suggest some generalizations about the disturbances. For example, small- to medium-sized cities with low-level disturbances in which the officials and the police significantly overreacted (IV) tended to show no response in either direction. Cities where the disturbances were distinctly political in tone tended to initiate positive changes (creation of jobs, defeat of anti-loitering laws, new recreational facilities, etc.) after the riot (I, III). There would also seem to be an indication that the greater the political content of the disturbance, the greater its intensity and destructiveness.

Cities where the disturbance was of major proportion and intensity (I) moved both toward polarization and toward increased efforts of change and accommodation. Significantly, type I cities are among the largest cities in which disorders occurred. Perhaps a city must be of a given size and complexity before it can move in both directions at the same time. Cities such as Cambridge, with a traditional racist character, and Jersey City, with powerful white ethnic populations, were most likely to show increased polarization unaccompanied by increased efforts at social change.

Cities with small- to medium-sized riots such as Atlanta, New Haven, and Grand Rapids, with relatively progressive local governments, or Tampa, with a somewhat benevolent, paternalistic white ruling class, were more likely to show increased efforts of change without, however, an increase in polarization (III).



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