Reddit reviews The Death of an American Jewish Community: A Tragedy of Good Intentions
We found 3 Reddit comments about The Death of an American Jewish Community: A Tragedy of Good Intentions. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
ISBN13: 9780029138663Condition: NewNotes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Urban renewal, White flight, redlining, and block busting
Here is a book with more on the subject
http://www.amazon.com/The-Death-American-Jewish-Community/dp/0029138663
I always make this suggestion, although morbid sounding it's actually a fantastic read: The Death of an American Jewish Community: A tragedy of Good Intentions.
It's a great non-fiction book about red-lining practices of Boston's bankers and politicians of the 1950-1960s and its effects on Jewish, Black, and other ethnic communities. SUPER interesting.
I grew up in Boston in the 70's and 80's. I would point anyone who wants to know more about the racial problems in Boston to these two books:
Common Ground
The Death of an American Jewish Community
On the one hand, I feel defensive because I'm from Boston and I don't consider myself to be a racist. On the other hand, I can admit that yes, there was plenty of racism in Boston in the past and not nearly as much now. It's true, Boston has become a lot more diverse in the past 20 years or so. But, as someone who is white, I'll also add that I've been harassed (chased, spit on, jumped etc.) on numerous occasions by black people in Boston. Boston's racial problems (and really everyone else') are hardly a one way street. Also, economic class plays a huge role in the problem we typically and solely generalize as "racism".
For the record, South Boston was a dump way back in the day and not the kind of place you'd visit if you weren't from there, even if you were white. On that note, Southie, Charlestown and a few of Boston's other old neighborhoods have undergone massive transformations. They have become heavily gentrified and yuppified. One thing that doesn't get much media attention is that the yuppies and few remaining Townies don't mix too well either.
The thing that pisses me off is that I've lived in other parts of the country and had people say to me, "Oh you're from Boston, are you racist?" As if that's not a form of prejudice or stereotyping.