Historian Andrew Highsmith’s indepth look at the
intersection of race, housing, education, and politics in Flint is a must-read
for anyone hoping to truly understand the past, present, and future of the
Vehicle City, and, by extension, other post-industrial cities around the
country. It’s really a portrait of America. It explores the decisions — often
made during the boom years — that brought Flint to its present state. And it
reveals that even when the city was viewed as a industrial success story,
racial politics ensured that many were systematically excluded from the
prosperity. Highsmith’s work profoundly changed my understanding of Flint and
the forces that animate it. In an era when quick hits and shallow reporting
have come to define a great deal of what is written about complicated issues,
Demolition Means Progress captures the complexity of cities like Flint. I
highly recommend it.
Pre-order Demolition Means Progress here.
You can read a lot of the book here. http://www.amazon.com/Demolition-Means-Progress-Metropolis-Historical/dp/022605005X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1434551018&sr=1-1&keywords=demolition+means+progress
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I agree with a lot of his conclusions. It's true that in the '50's Flint was de facto segregated but so was every other city in the United States. At least in flint minorities had union jobs and made good money.
Central Fl had real segregation right up tot he mid 1960's.
I think he's forcing a lot of his facts to fit a certain narrative.
This book was the author's Ph.D. dissertation which accounts for the wonky nature of the book.
The entire dissertation is here: http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/62230/ahighsmi_1.pdf
Flint was the Silicon Valley of the 1950's. The really interesting question is will San Jose become Flint in the next 50 years. The techies will say it won't happen. I remember when we del that way in Flint. Arrogance will always get you in the end.
ReplyDelete"Amen," sadly, Richard.
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