Executive Times
		2007 Book Reviews
		There Goes the Neighborhood: Racial, Ethnic, and Class Tensions in Four Chicago Neighborhoods and Their Meaning for America by William Julius Wilson and Richard P. Taub
Rating:			***
		(Recommended)
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	Coalitions Two sociologists and their students studied four different neighborhoods in Chicago, and learned about what keeps neighborhoods strong, and what leads to social disintegration. Their book, There Goes the Neighborhood: Racial, Ethnic, and Class Tensions in Four Chicago Neighborhoods and Their Meaning for America presents the research findings with clarity. The ambitious ending of the subtitle can be summarized as follows: the meaning of this research for America is that the stronger local neighborhood organizations are, the less likely it is that a community deteriorates. When people of all backgrounds and economic levels unite in coalitions for common goals, like the improvement of local schools, the neighborhood becomes stronger. Here’s an excerpt, from the beginning of Chapter 5, “Groveland: A Stable African American Community,” pp. 128-133: Written with the collaboration of Reuben A. Buford May and Mary Pattillo African Americans migrated from the South to Chicago’s racially segregated “Black Belt” from 1950 through 1970 and garnered a higher share of local jobs. As a result, the city’s South Side became ever more African American.^1 The predominantly white community of Groveland proved no exception to this dramatic expansion of the black community. Only 6 of 12,710 Groveland residents enumerated in the 1960 census were African American. A decade later, blacks accounted for 83 percent of Groveland residents, and by 1990 the neighborhood’s black population had reached 98 percent. Real estate speculators helped fuel this rapid racial displacement. Capitalizing on strong demand for housing by both blacks and whites, these deceitful speculators staged episodes of violence to convince white residents that African Americans were bringing crime and drugs into Groveland. In October 1959 three white Chicago Daily News journalists highlighted the real estate sharks—both black and white—who preyed on Groveland homeowners. “The Panic-Peddlers,” a nine-part exposé, included the names and addresses, as well as photographs, of these “blockbusters” who used intimidation and terror to induce whites into selling their homes quickly and cheaply. Although local civic organizations attempted to preserve racial diversity in Grove-land, the speculators triumphed: homes were resold at escalated prices to African Americans. Fifty-year-old Al Charles, who grew up in the post— World War II Black Belt, recalled how venturing into Groveland was then a perilous enterprise,^2as white children would beat up black youngsters who crossed Chicago’s symbolic Mason-Dixon line. “I always had to have some friends go with me, and we had better be prepared to fight.” Charles and his adventuresome friends formed the vanguard that presaged the expansion of the Black Belt. Infrequent youthful trips into white neighborhoods preceded waves of migration by entire families to South Side neighborhoods, and later into select suburbs that eventually became black enclaves. Akeem Davis, an African American in his forties who moved into the neighborhood when he was a teenager, remarked: “When I first moved here, the neighborhood was going through racial changes. I remember you would walk out of the house and get jumped on. There were other ethnic groups and sometimes we couldn’t walk down the street without getting pop bottles thrown at us.” Despite these incidents, Groveland proved relatively immune to the violence endemic to other Chicago neighborhoods during the period of racial turnover, as white residents largely avoided tactics designed to stave off an influx of blacks. While whites expressed concern about losing their familiar neighborhood, those with economic resources simply relocated to newer suburbs built soon after World War II. As one longtime resident of Groveland noted, “For the most part, white people just quietly moved. They didn’t say anything; they just left.”^3By 1970 the process of racial turnover was nearly complete. Groveland did not succumb to widespread violence for several reasons. First, since it was situated nearly six miles from the original Black Belt, Groveland did not receive a large in-migration of African Americans until halfway through the 1960s. Second, the relatively high social and economic standing of longtime white homeowners and incoming African Americans alike smoothed the process of racial change. In fact, new black residents actually held a slight economic and educational edge over the neighborhood’s previous occupants. Residents’ median years of schooling rose from 12.1 to 12.4 years from 1960 to 1970, for example, while their poverty rate fell from 6.1 to 5.1 percent. Incoming African Americans also had much in common with white residents, as Groveland’s brick-faced, suburban-style, single-family homes appealed to families who preferred to buy rather than rent. Thus landlords could not exploit the fast-paced housing market by subdividing apartments for blacks with lower incomes. Because of these influences, the proportion of homeowners in Groveland has remained above 70 percent since 1950, and many residents have lived in the neighborhood for decades.^4 African American residents often arrived in Groveland from neighborhoods where congested buildings in disarray and streets soiled with litter lowered property values and fostered crime. These new residents exhibited a vigorous desire to maintain their new dwellings. A visit to Groveland revealed the fruits of this desire for cleanliness and neighborhood upkeep, as signs reading WELCOME and billboards urging HAVE A NICE DAY! framed finely landscaped houses.^5 Residents actively encouraged car owners to drive slowly and mind children who might be playing in the neighborhood. This community spirit manifested itself in other ways as well. According to Melissa Rains, a staff member for the alderman representing Groveland, residents who lived near a group of abandoned houses “all come together and mow the lawn and pick up the trash so that you really can’t tell that the houses are abandoned.” Block clubs—the neighborhood’s most visible form of social organization—played a critical role in ensuring that newcomers observed traditions established by older members of the community and provided a venue for neighbors to deal collectively with their problems. Block-club signs such as DRIVE CAREFULLY, NO LOUD MUSIC, NO LITTERING, and NO HORN BLOWING adorned the entrances to many areas, reflecting the middle-class status of residents who remained vigilant lest low-income patterns of behavior emerge. Alderman Trisha Hill reported that block clubs effectively addressed two central issues in Groveland, graffiti and sanitation, as the clubs invited representatives from city departments to meet with their members. Block clubs also advanced proposals for combating crime, paving streets, putting up Christmas lighting, and removing sidewalk snow. Overall, the block clubs “are very effective in rendering city services,” according to Hill. Longtime residents had built strong families and lasting friendships around their shared concern for the neighborhood’s future. Linda Marshall, a thirty-eight-year-old married mother of two, lived with her husband, whom she met in high school, within a block of both their parents. Three of Linda’s five sisters resided nearby with their children, and another sister had recently moved to a neighborhood in the immediate vicinity. Linda reflected on the neighborhood’s close relationships: You’d never know it, but it’s like one big family around here. Like if you just came up here [to the Groveland field house], you’d never know all the people that’s related, like Diedra and Bird and Lance are brothers and sisters. And like Spider went to Jackson [High School] with Julie [her sister]. They used to share a locker. . . ‘Cause, see, I live on this block and my mother lives on this block and then Moe’s mama [her mother-in-law] lives on this block. Plummeting demand for low-skilled workers stemming from deindustrialization left many black neighborhoods in Chicago with few employment opportunities, but Groveland remained insulated from these structural economic changes.^6 In fact, many adult workers in Groveland benefited from an economic restructuring that favored their higher skills and technical and professional expertise. According to the 1980 census, 59 percent of Groveland’s population was employed in white-collar occupations; this figure had risen to 65 percent by 2000. Almost one-third of Groveland’s employed population worked for the city, state, or federal government. Government jobs instilled a sense of control and power among residents that was apparent in casual conversations and at community meetings. Residents often relied on their strong links to government officials to try to rectify problems, typically showing much persistence. At one meeting on public safety, Sara Wilson, a woman in her mid-thirties, complained about a neighbor who was fixing cars and using hazardous materials in the alley near her home. According to Sara, despite two complaints to the city government and a call to 911, no police car had driven past to examine the situation. Even when her husband, a Chicago firefighter, complained within the fire department, nothing happened. Finally her cousin, who worked for the police department, drove through the alley and warned the man, but he continued undeterred. Having first pursued informal routes, Sara arrived at the police beat meeting to formally ask for help, and the police representative assured her that an officer would check out the situation as soon as possible. There Goes the Neighborhood presents both data and personal stories in ways that make the conclusions supportable. This is recommended reading for anyone struggling to build stronger communities. Steve Hopkins, January 25, 2007
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	2007 Hopkins and Company, LLC The recommendation rating for this book appeared in the February 2007 issue of Executive Times URL for this review: http://www.hopkinsandcompany.com/Books/There Goes the Neighborhood.htm For Reprint Permission, Contact: Hopkins & Company, LLC • 723 North Kenilworth Avenue • Oak Park, IL 60302 Phone: 708-466-4650 • Fax: 708-386-8687 E-mail: books@hopkinsandcompany.com www.hopkinsandcompany.com