A New York Times Notable Book of 2016 Winner of the Zócalo Public Square Book PrizeOn March 29; 1516; the city council of Venice issued a decree forcing Jews to live in il geto―a closed quarter named for the copper foundry that once occupied the area. The term stuck.In this sweeping and original account; Mitchell Duneier traces the idea of the ghetto from its beginnings in the sixteenth century and its revival by the Nazis to the present. As Duneier shows; we cannot comprehend the entanglements of race; poverty; and place in America today without recalling the ghettos of Europe; as well as earlier efforts to understand the problems of the American city.Ghetto is the story of the scholars and activists who tried to achieve that understanding. As Duneier shows; their efforts to wrestle with race and poverty cannot be divorced from their individual biographies; which often included direct encounters with prejudice and discrimination in the academy and elsewhere. Using new and forgotten sources; Duneier introduces us to Horace Cayton and St. Clair Drake; graduate students whose conception of the South Side of Chicago established a new paradigm for thinking about Northern racism and poverty in the 1940s. We learn how the psychologist Kenneth Clark subsequently linked Harlem’s slum conditions with the persistence of black powerlessness; and we follow the controversy over Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s report on the black family. We see how the sociologist William Julius Wilson redefined the debate about urban America as middle-class African Americans increasingly escaped the ghetto and the country retreated from racially specific remedies. And we trace the education reformer Geoffrey Canada’s efforts to transform the lives of inner-city children with ambitious interventions; even as other reformers sought to help families escape their neighborhoods altogether.Duneier offers a clear-eyed assessment of the thinkers and doers who have shaped American ideas about urban poverty―and the ghetto. The result is a valuable new estimation of an age-old concept.
#69517 in Books 2010-07-27 2010-07-27Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.00 x .68 x 5.16l; .53 #File Name: 0345511018336 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Walls Memoir Provides an Insider's Perspective of a Troubling TimeBy Tina SaysCarlotta Walls Lanier; the author of A Mighty Long Way; is one of the Little Rock nine who helped to integrate Little Rock; Arkansas' Central High School in the late 1950s and early 1960s. This memoir was an easy read - at least as far as the writing goes. What was not easy was the idea of school segregation and the the racist behavior that Carlotta and her friends endured during their high school years. When most teenagers were busy attending football games; dating; and hanging out with their friends; Carlotta spent her days worrying about the safety of herself and her family and finding her way in an environment that she was not often welcomed in. She faced roadblocks on her road to graduation that her white peers never had to encounter; sometimes being unable to attend school due to threats made against her.Carlotta achieved her dream of graduating from Central High School along with some of the other students who helped to integrate the school. While they did achieve their goal; it was not without a price. Carlotta does not complain about the path she chose in life; but does recognize that attending high school under such stressful circumstances did affect her ability to concentrate and accomplish certain things in college.History books make mention of the Little Rock nine; and most students do know the story of Ruby Bridges; yet even having a little knowledge about this chapter in history did not give me the perspective that a person who lived it is able to. Walls did not write her memoir until later in her life; having tried to leave her infamy behind. Remembering the events she lived through was hard when she first began accepting speaking offers; but Walls persevered and continued to share her story with others. Today the Little Rock nine are a group of friends who meet and keep up with each other regularly. Their shared experience have bound them for life. Walls' first person account of this period in history is honest and interesting; and could easily be used in a high school curriculum as well as for pleasure reading. Any reader will be inspired by Walls' determination and pride0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A Must read if you no little or nothing about Little Rock NineBy Kindle Customer"A Might Long Way" was emotional from the forward by President Bill Clinton to the last page. Mrs. Lanier book is well written and seems like she has been writing books forever. She told her story of integrated an all white High School in Little Rock; Arkansas. The book read like a novel and only if it was fiction it would not hurt as bad to relive her struggle to get a better education for herself which help all Americans to get a better education. "A Might Long Way" had no bad qualities. The story was told with enough detail setting you up for the next event in the author's life. "A Mighty Long Way" made me proud and grateful that these nine young men and woman endured the spiting and tripping and other awful things so I could have a better life. It taught us that this was not a one day event or a one year event this was a minimal four year event and probably longer for those who followed in their footsteps. It also educated me because I was really ignorant on the history. Yes I have heard of Little Rock Nine but I did not know the details of the story. Mrs. Lanier story was one of courage and struggle. It reminded me of the struggles I go through with being a minority in my own profession. The book made me think of the barriers that are still in front of minorities and made me wonder would there be a time that all barriers would fall for good. President Obama election has brought out the worst in race relations; so not even a minority president has brought down barriers. "A Might Long Way" reminded me of how many people before me has pave the way so I can have the life I have now. It also gives me the strength to try and fight my way through a field where minority still struggle to be recognize. I enjoyed learning so much about Little Rock Nine's struggle to integrate Central High School that I would consider reading books by any of the other eight that may have written their stories on Little Rock Nine.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. The Events of Long Ago Still Echo Today.By Michelle RIn 1957; Carlotta Walls signed up to attend a high school. This shouldn't have been a dangerous or even unusual decision. The school was in her district; indeed; Central was close to her home. She chose it not because it was the closest school so much as because it was one of the best schools in the country and education was very important to her and her family. A gifted student; she looked forward to not just a first rate education; but also making friends and joining in extra curricular activities. Even when she and other students were told they couldn't participate in any after hours events; Carlotta - although very disappointed - chose to attend. To accomplish delivering this child; who had every right to be there; to the her classroom took leading her and others past snarling bigots; being surrounded by clergy; and the intervention of the President of the United States.And that was only the beginning of her battle to get the education she was legally and morally entitled to receive.There's a Bruce Hornsby song with the lyrics:They say hey little boy you can't goWhere the others go'Cause you don't look like they doSaid hey old man how can you standTo think that wayDid you really think about itBefore you made the rules?This story is the story of that struggle -- to go where the others go. To make the scales of justice weigh true. It's a story about not just Carlotta; but also about the family who raised her to be brave and honorable; and all they sacrificed and risked in order to support her. It's also a story about a woman who spent much of her time trying not to remember those days; because -- having survived them -- the memories were too painful.The story also reveals that Carlotta's house as bombed in her senior year; and a couple of her neighbors -- also black -- were blamed for it. Carlotta shares her beliefs involving those events; as well as the her beliefs about the violent death of the police chief that was publicly ruled a murder-suicide.It would be easy to deem this book as history -- events that happened a long time ago. But like many other violent events in the past; this story still resonates today. People didn't stop hating. They didn't stop being afraid of change. We didn't all just get together and hold hands. The battlegrounds have changed; but the hate and the rhetoric is the same. The ugliness that distorts a visage twisted in anger can still be seen today.We know that we are doomed to repeat history if we choose not to learn from it. If we let ourselves forget; if we don't teach our children; if we don't even show a small fraction of the bravery the Little Rock Nine showed; then there will always be some child somewhere told that they don't belong.The author writes eloquently of her childhood and family; and -- of course -- her time at central. The time immediately after graduation is also dealt with; but then she seems to skip many years; and the change of pace was a little jarring. This is a small criticism; and probably due to wanting to just read more about her instead of speeding to the end of our acquaintance.As I hope is clear; I recommend this book. Mrs. Walls-LaNier's pain at that time is still so vivid and compelling; as is her story about going to New York as a child and having her first taste of what it would be like to be treated like someone with all the rights of any other American citizen. This would also be an excellent book for young adults to read; not matter what their race.
