A City Divided: The Racial Landscape of Kansas City, 1900-1960A City Divided traces the development of white Kansas Citians’ perceptions of race and examines the ways in which those perceptions shaped both the physical landscape of the city and the manner in which Kansas City was policed and governed. Because of rapid changes in land use and difficulties in suppressing crime and vice in Kansas City, the control of urban spaces became an acute concern, particularly for the white middle class, before race became a problematic issue in Kansas City. As the African American population grew in size and assertiveness, whites increasingly identified blacks with those factors that most deprived a given space of its middle-class character. Consequently, African Americans came to represent the antithesis of middle-class values, and the white middle class established its identity by excluding blacks from the urban spaces it occupied. By 1930, racial discrimination rested firmly on gender and family values as well as class. Inequitable law enforcement in the ghetto increased criminal activity, both real and perceived, within the African American community. White Kansas Citians maintained this system of racial exclusion and denigration in part by “misdirection,” either by denying that exclusion existed or by claiming that segregation was necessary to prevent racial violence. Consequently, African American organizations sought to counter misdirection tactics. The most effective of these efforts followed World War II, when local black activists devised demonstration strategies that targeted misdirection specifically. At the same time, a new perception emerged among white liberals about the role of race in shaping society. Whites in the local civil rights movement acted upon the belief that integration would produce a better society by transforming human character. Successful in laying the foundation for desegregating public accommodations in Kansas City, black and white activists nonetheless failed to dismantle the systems of spatial exclusion and inequitable law enforcement or to eradicate the racial ideologies that underlay those systems. These racial perceptions continue to shape race relations in Kansas City and elsewhere. This study demystifies these perceptions by exploring their historical context. While there have been many studies of the emergence of ghettos in northern and border cities, and others of race, gender, segregation, and the origins of white ideologies, A City Divided is the first to address these topics in the context of a dynamic, urban society in the Midwest. |
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Page 9
... lodges and the 1. Burton, Autobiography of Clarence A. Burton: A Story of His Life and Experiences, 252–53. Rotary Club because these organizations brought him into association with 9 Social Status and the Control of Urban Space.
... lodges and the 1. Burton, Autobiography of Clarence A. Burton: A Story of His Life and Experiences, 252–53. Rotary Club because these organizations brought him into association with 9 Social Status and the Control of Urban Space.
Page 10
... association with men of good standing in the business community and earned his boss's ap- proval . Finding the right home for his family proved to be more difficult . As a prospective bridegroom , Burton had thought about renting a home ...
... association with men of good standing in the business community and earned his boss's ap- proval . Finding the right home for his family proved to be more difficult . As a prospective bridegroom , Burton had thought about renting a home ...
Page 17
... association of home owners to enforce them. Membership and dues were mandatory for prop- erty owners in the Country Club District. Thus, Nichols's realty company, abetted by the homes association, ensured that successive owners met ...
... association of home owners to enforce them. Membership and dues were mandatory for prop- erty owners in the Country Club District. Thus, Nichols's realty company, abetted by the homes association, ensured that successive owners met ...
Page 31
... Association to coordinate the charitable activities required to relieve want among both stranded Exodusters and impoverished whites.9 Although black Kansas Citians were never as acquiescent as the Times re- ported in 1875, even their ...
... Association to coordinate the charitable activities required to relieve want among both stranded Exodusters and impoverished whites.9 Although black Kansas Citians were never as acquiescent as the Times re- ported in 1875, even their ...
Page 62
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Contents
1 | |
26 | |
The Webwork of Race Status and Gender | 58 |
Racial Geography | 96 |
Under Quarantine | 122 |
Magicians Tricks | 147 |
Truth Is Fatal | 181 |
Expedient Fears | 227 |
Bibliography | 237 |
Index | 253 |
Other editions - View all
A City Divided: The Racial Landscape of Kansas City, 1900-1960 Sherry Lamb Schirmer Limited preview - 2002 |
Common terms and phrases
African Americans April Armour Hills Association August Belvidere Benson Papers Beth Smith black and white black community black eastside black families black Kansas Citians black population black residents black women C. A. Franklin Chicago Citizens city council city’s civil rights claimed clubs color COPOD crime Democratic district Exodusters February Fellowship House ghetto households interracial interview J. C. Nichols January jazz Jim Crow July June Kansas City Call Kansas City Journal Kansas City Star Kansas City Sun labor leaders living Lucile Bluford March middle-class Missouri moral NAACP Naysmith Negro neighborhoods North End November October officers organization owners Pendergast Machine percent political protection Quality Hill race relations racial racism real estate reform reported Republican residential Rising Son segregation September social Southern Swope Park tactics tion Tom Pendergast urban vice Vine Street corridor West Bottoms white Kansas Citians white women white-collar William workers