In The Rise and Fall of Protestant
Brooklyn , Stuart M. Blumin and Glenn C.
Altschuler tell the story of nineteenth-century Brooklyn's
domination by upper- and middle-class Protestants with roots in
...Puritan New England. This lively history describes the
unraveling of the control they wielded as more ethnically diverse
groups moved into the "City of Churches" during the twentieth
century.
Before it became a prime American example of urban ethnic
diversity, Brooklyn was a lovely and salubrious "town across the
river" from Manhattan, celebrated for its churches and upright
suburban living. But challenges to this way of life issued from the
sheer growth of the city, from new secular institutions-department
stores, theaters, professional baseball-and from the licit and
illicit attractions of Coney Island, all of which were at odds with
post-Puritan piety and behavior.
Despite these developments, the Yankee-Protestant hegemony
largely held until the massive influx of Southern and Eastern
European immigrants in the twentieth century. As The Rise and
Fall of Protestant Brooklyn demonstrates, in their churches,
synagogues, and other communal institutions, and on their
neighborhood streets, the new Brooklynites established the ethnic
mosaic that laid the groundwork for the theory of cultural
pluralism, giving it a central place within the American Creed.
Across the United States marginalized communities are organizing to address social, economic, and environmental inequities through building community food systems rooted in the principles of social ...justice. But how exactly are communities doing this work, why are residents tackling these issues through food, what are their successes, and what barriers are they encountering? This book dives into the heart of the food justice movement through an exploration of East New York Farms! (ENYF!), one of the oldest food justice organizations in Brooklyn, and one that emerged from a bottom-up asset-oriented development model. It details the food inequities the community faces and what produced them, how and why residents mobilized to turn vacant land into community gardens, and the struggles the organization has encountered as they worked to feed residents through urban farms and farmers markets. This book also discusses how through the politics of food justice, ENYF! has challenged the growth-oriented development politics of City Hall, opposed the neoliberalization of food politics, navigated the funding constraints of philanthropy and the welfare state, and opposed the entrance of a Walmart into their community. Through telling this story, Growing Gardens, Building Power offers insights into how the food justice movement is challenging the major structures and institutions that seek to curtail the transformative power of the food justice movement and its efforts to build a more just and sustainable world.
In response to the riots of the mid-‘60s, Walter Thabit was hired to work with the community of East New York to develop a plan for low- and moderate-income public housing. In the years that ...followed, he experienced first-hand the forces that had engineered East New York’s dramatic decline and that continued to work against its successful revitalization. How East New York Became a Ghetto describes the shift of East New York from a working-class immigrant neighborhood to a largely black and Puerto Rican neighborhood and shows how the resulting racially biased policies caused the deterioration of this once flourishing area.
A clear-sighted, unflinching look at one ghetto community, How East New York Became a Ghetto provides insights and observations on the histories and fates of ghettos throughout the United States.
Boss of Black Brooklynpresents a riveting and untold story about the struggles and achievements of the first black person to hold public office in Brooklyn. Bertram L. Baker immigrated to the United ...States from the Caribbean island of Nevis in 1915. Three decades later, he was elected to the New York state legislature, representing the Bedford Stuyvesant section. A pioneer and a giant, Baker has a story that is finally revealed in intimate and honest detail by his grandson Ron Howell.
Boss of Black Brooklynbegins with the tale of one man's rise to prominence in a fascinating era of black American history, a time when thousands of West Indian families began leaving their native islands in the Caribbean and settling in New York City. In 1948, Bert Baker was elected to the New York state assembly, representing the growing central Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford Stuyvesant. Baker loved telling his fellow legislators that only one other Nevisian had ever served in the state assembly. That was Alexander Hamilton, the founding father. Making his own mark on modern history, Baker pushed through one of the nation's first bills outlawing discrimination in the sale or rental of housing. Also, for thirty years, from 1936 to 1966, he led the all-black American Tennis Association, as its executive secretary. In that capacity he successfully negotiated with white tennis administrators, getting them to accept Althea Gibson into their competitions. Gibson then made history as the first black champion of professional tennis. Yet, after all of Baker's wonderful achievements, little has been written to document his role in black history.
Baker represents a remarkable turning point in the evolution of modern New York City. In the 1940s, when he won his seat in the New York state assembly, blacks made up only 4 percent of the population of Brooklyn. Today they make up a third of the population, and there are scores of black elected officials. Yet Brooklyn, often called the capital of the Black Diaspora, is a capital under siege. Developers and realtors seeking to gentrify the borough are all but conspiring to push blacks out of the city. A very important and long-overdue book,Boss of Black Brooklynnot only explores black politics and black organizations but also penetrates Baker's inner life and reveals themes that resonate today: black fatherhood, relations between black men and black women, faithfulness to place and ancestry. Bertram L. Baker's story has receded into the shadows of time, butBoss of Black Brooklynrecaptures it and inspires us to learn from it.
Remarkable, important, and beautifully written book about a key figure at the forefront of black politics in Brooklyn in the 1940s.
Brooklyn today has three dozen black elected officials, including members of Congress. It has overtaken Harlem as the center of black political power in the city and is synonymous with the blackimmigrant presence in New York City.
In 1948 Bertram L. Baker became the first black person elected to political office in Brooklyn. He took his New York State Assembly seat in January of 1949 and served 22 consecutive years as the political boss of black Brooklyn, which in those days meant Bedford Stuyvesant.
Before the Fires is the first book documenting the African American experience in the Bronx during the years when the Bronx was seen as a place of hope and opportunity for Blacks and Latinos. ...Consisting of sixteen oral histories whose narrators, ranging from teachers to musicians, share personal stories with almost cinematic vividness, it describes vibrant communities erased from memory by the fires and disinvestment which beset the Bronx during the 70's and 80's. These neighborhoods, the largest and most important of which were Morrisania and Hunts Point, not only had a unique mixture of cultures and ethnic groups, they produced more varieties of popular music than almost any communities in the nation. This book forces us not only to revise our understanding of Bronx history, it will inspire a new look at urban African American history during and after World War II, when black communities in many cities were anchored by strong institutions, had vibrant business districts, and were able to make public schools and public housing serve their interests with surprising effectiveness. Unsparing in its look at the way racism limited where Blacks could live, shop, seek work and even safely navigate by bus or on foot, Before the Fires brings to life a time when Black families in the Bronx were able to find and create opportunities for themselves and their children in neighborhoods there were far more multiracial and had stronger public institutions than they have today.
The World in Brooklyn: Gentrification, Immigration, and Ethnic Politics in a Global City, is a collection of scholarly papers which analyze demographic, social, political, and economic trends that ...are occurring in Brooklyn. Brooklyn, as the context, reflects global forces while also contributing to them. The idea for this volume developed as the editors discovered a group of scholars from different disciplines and various universities studying Brooklyn. Brooklyn has always been legendary and has more recently regained its stature as a much sought after place to live, work and have fun. Popular folklore has it that most U.S. residents trace their family origins to Brooklyn. It is presently referred to as one of the “hippest” places in New York. Thus, this book is a collection of demographic, ethnographic, and comparative studies which focus on urban dynamics in Brooklyn. The chapters investigate issues of social class, urban development, immigration, race, ethnicity and politics within the context of Brooklyn. As a whole, this book considers both theoretical and practical urban issues. In most cases the scholarly perspective is on everyday life. With this in mind there are also social justice concerns. Issues of social segregation and attendant homogenization are brought to light. Moreover, social class and race advantages or disadvantages, as part of urban processes, are underscored through critiques of local policy decisions throughout the chapters. A common thread is the assertion by contributors that planning the future of Brooklyn needs to include multi-ethnic, racial, and economic groups, those very residents who make-up Brooklyn.
From Paris to Rio, everyone's curious about hot, new Brooklyn.The Brooklyn Experience, Ellen Freudenheim's fourth comprehensive Brooklyn guidebook, offers a true insider's guide, complete with ...photographs, itineraries, and insights into one of the most creative, dynamic cities in the modern world.
Walk over the Brooklyn Bridge at dawn or sunset, discover thirty-eight unique Brooklyn neighborhoods, and experience the borough like a native. Find out where to go to the beach and to eat great pizza, what to do with the kids, how to enjoy free and cheap activities, and where to savor Brooklyn's famous cuisines. Visit cool independent shops, greenmarkets, festivals, and delve into the vibrant new cultural scene at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Barclays Center, and the lively exploding neighborhoods of DUMBO, Williamsburg, and Bushwick.
Included in the book are essays and the pithy, sometimes funny comments of sixty cultural, literary, and culinary movers and shakers, culled from exclusive interviews with experts from the James Beard Foundation to the cofounder of the famous Brooklyn Book Festival, as well as MacArthur "genius" award winners, to young entrepreneurs, hipsters, and activists, all of whom have something to say about Brooklyn's stunning renaissance. Neighborhood profiles are rich in user-friendly information and details, including movies, celebrities, and novels associated with each neighborhood. There are also 800 listings of great restaurants, bars, shops, parks, cultural institutions, and historical sites, complete with contact information.
Targeting the independent, curious traveler,The Brooklyn Experienceincludes a dozen "do-it-yourself" tours, including a visit to Woody Allen's childhood neighborhood, and amazing Revolutionary and Civil War sites.
Freudenheim draws clear-and sometimes surprising-connections between old and new Brooklyn. Written by an author with an astounding knowledge of all Brooklyn has to offer,The Brooklyn Experiencewill guide both first-time and repeat visitors, and will be a fun resource for Brooklynites who enjoy exploring their own hometown.
Drawing on more than fifteen years of research,Mexican New Yorkoffers an intimate view of globalization as it is lived by Mexican immigrants and their children in New York and in Mexico. Robert ...Courtney Smith's groundbreaking study sheds new light on transnationalism, vividly illustrating how immigrants move back and forth between New York and their home village in Puebla with considerable ease, borrowing from and contributing to both communities as they forge new gender roles; new strategies of social mobility, race, and even adolescence; and new brands of politics and egalitarianism. Smith's deeply informed narrative describes how first-generation men who have lived in New York for decades become important political leaders in their home villages in Mexico. Smith explains how relations between immigrant men and women and their U.S.-born children are renegotiated in the context of migration to New York and temporary return visits to Mexico. He illustrates how U.S.-born youth keep their attachments to Mexico, and how changes in migration and assimilation have combined to transnationalize both U.S.-born adolescents and Mexican gangs between New York and Puebla.Mexican New Yorkprofoundly deepens our knowledge of immigration as a social process, convincingly showing how some immigrants live and function in two worlds at the same time and how transnationalization and assimilation are not opposing, but related, phenomena.
