“New York Is a State of Mind”: Race, Marginalization, and Cultural Expression In
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“New York is a State of Mind”: Race, Marginalization, and Cultural Expression in Postwar New York City by Jordan Brenner A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfillment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Master of Arts in History Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2011 Jordan Brenner 2011 Author’s Declaration I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. ii ABSTRACT While the urban crisis debate has expanded to examine a variety of American cities, the general exploration of how African Americans have responded to, and challenged, racial and urban inequality remains focused on grassroots political and community activism. This account of postwar New York City seeks to examine how structural discrimination created racial inequality, how African Americans suffered from a complex system of social consequences that further marginalized them, and how a politically conscious art form emerged from the destitution of the urban crisis. As illustrated through Robert Merton’s theory of Anomie, restricted opportunity for social and economic advancement created an environment vulnerable to crime. Not only were African American neighbourhoods susceptible to crime, but the conservative agenda tended to demonize African Americans as dangerous criminals, targeting them in the rise of mass incarceration. Resources were funneled into imprisoning more people, and African Americans were disproportionately represented in the American corrections system. As a result of this, African Americans were consistently excluded from certain jobs and denied basic civil rights. This thesis will also explore how African Americans responded to, and challenged, racial and urban inequality through the arts. The Black Arts Movement emerged from New York City in the mid-1960s. The movement was both confrontational and socially conscious. Artists sought to articulate the struggles of urban African Americans while empowering, educating, and protesting racial injustices. The Black Arts Movement was fundamentally political, and a predecessor to the Hip Hop culture which emerged from the South Bronx neighborhood of New York City. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am much indebted to my family, friends and faculty for the inspiration, support, and encouragement throughout my time at the University of Waterloo. Without you, I would not be who I am, or where I am today – I cannot thank you enough. I am eternally grateful to the two professors who inspired most. Dr. Andrew Hunt, I remember my first class with you, The History of the Vietnam War and American Society – you sparked my young mind. You have always encouraged me to follow my interest, and asked challenging questions along the way. Through multiple independent studies and advising this thesis project, you have been thought-provoking and supportive. Thank you. Dr. Thomas Brenner, I can honestly say that I could not have done this without you. From a young age you have taught me to be hardworking and humble. You have never let me settle for mediocrity, you inspired me to be a leader and to constantly strive for better. Thanks, Dad. Thank you to the University of Waterloo Department of History, there are so many individuals who have helped me throughout my time here. Thank you especially to Donna Lang for all of the reminders, I apologize for the extra work I made for you. I always thought it was cliché for historians to pay so much gratitude to their librarians – that is, until I began my thesis. I was fortunate enough to benefit from the assistance of two librarians. Jane Forgay, thank you so much for all of your help, I could not have done it without you. You always took time out of your schedule to help me, whether it was to walk me through the library, talk with me, or locate sources on your own time. I am so appreciative of your extraordinary care and work ethic. Donna Bright, iv I want to say thank you to you and your assistant librarian Steve Marcoux. Whenever I was in dire need of a source, I knew I could come to you. Gramps, if I turn out to be half the man you are, I will be happy, successful, and loved. Thanks for everything. Mom, thank you for instilling in me your work ethic, and need for monetary stability. Meagan, thank you for your compassion and support throughout everything. Sam, you have been very influential and taught me the power of knowledge. To the Waterloo boys, Brad Forsyth, Rob Schnarr, Scott Wilson, Mike Aldworth, Warren Wills, José Argueta and everybody else, thanks for the support and relief whenever it was needed. To the UW hockey boys – Doug Spooner, Mark Hartman, Thomas Cardiff, Kyle Sonnenburg, David Philpott, and Aaron Dileo – you have always been eager to listen, engage, and challenge me to stimulating and frustrating debates. I am better because of these lively conversations, thank you. Finally, to the person who has been with me everyday throughout my Masters journey, Zara. While I did not always show it, I could not have made it without your unwavering compassion, support and enthusiasm. Thank you. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Author’s Declaration................................................................................................................................ ii ABSTRACT ..............................................................................................................................................iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................................. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................................................... vi INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER ONE: “Subsidized Discrimination”: The Construction of New York City’s Urban Crisis ............................................................................................................................................. 12 CHAPTER TWO: Inner City Crime and Racial Demonizing: The Social Consequences of the Urban Crisis ................................................................................................................................ 33 CHAPTER THREE: “Poetry for the People, by the People”: New York City and the Black Arts Movement........................................................................................................................... 49 CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................................... 68 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................................. 73 vi INTRODUCTION The World War II era marked the pinnacle of America’s industrial efficiency. Production fueled the efforts for victory in Europe and the Pacific, and domestic manpower reached a level of resourcefulness that has yet to be paralleled in the United States. High demand for wartime goods forced employment opportunities to open to previously excluded minorities. As a sign of the changing times, President Roosevelt issued the Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC), established on June 25, 1941, which barred “discrimination of defense jobs because of race, creed, color or national origin.”1 For many African Americans, passage of the FEPC seemed to end exclusion from manufacturing and mass-production industries and signal their opening to the American mainstream economy. African Americans flocked to industrial centres in hopes of capitalizing on employment shortages in manufacturing plants that were awarded lucrative defensive industry contracts. However, employment discrimination persisted and African Americans were isolated in racially segregated ghettos in the urban industrial centres of the Northeast, Midwest and West. After World War II, African Americans in urban ghettos further endured economic discrimination and many were victims of perpetual poverty. Polarization of wealth and opportunity hardened residential segregation, forming urban African American ghettos. White Americans, with the aid of government subsidization programs, 1 “President Orders an Even Break for Minorities in Defense Jobs: He Issues an Order That Defense Contract Holders Not Allow Discrimination Against Negroes or Any Worker,” The New York Times, June 26, 1941. 1 fled the city centre and built new lives in the “lily white”2 suburbs. Marginalization and deterioration plagued inner cities in a myriad of forms including, deindustrialization, underemployment, disinvestment, taxpayer flight, urban renewal, crime and mass incarceration. There is no simple explanation for the emergence of persistent, concentrated, and racialized poverty in the post-World War II American urban metropolis. Academic interest has produced a variety of interpretations that recognize salient characteristics of inner-city decline and racialized poverty. Douglas Massey and Nancy Denton thoroughly illustrated the devastating effects of residential segregation in their book American Apartheid. Massey and Denton argued, “because of residential segregation, a significant share of black America is condemned to experience a social environment where poverty and joblessness are the norm,” consequently, “social and physical deterioration