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Not In My Neighborhood: How Bigotry Shaped A Great American City (2010)

by Antero Pietila(Favorite Author)

3.91 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

1566638437 (ISBN13: 9781566638432)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Ivan R. Dee Publisher

review 1: I moved to Baltimore 13 years ago, and have always been fascinated by the neighborhood complexities. I settled in East Baltimore (which Pietila grossly labelled a "slum") and marveled how the smallest houses I had ever seen were now the most popular neighborhoods to be in (easy to renovate, close to the endless strings of corner bars, I guess). I recall going to Franklin Square to look at a rental listing and being confused how any area with such magnificent houses could EVER have hit the skids quite like that. I wondered why the ethnic churches of the East side were still plugging on as usual while some churches had the Star of David on the building. Why did Locust Point remain white? What existed before the newer buildings downtown (guess who)? I'd talk to suburban... moreites who remember blockbusting and the riots, and they remained dumbfounded why anyone would choose to live in Baltimore. Lately I became one of those whites described in the final chapter who moved to the West side of town in search of great architecture and cheap prices. I was completely engrossed in the first few chapters of this book - I would've given 6 stars if I could - mainly because the older history was so unfamiliar to me compared to the more familiar, nationwide cause-and-effect of industrial economy and policy following WW-II, but also because my current street is located 1 block East of the old legal black-white demarcation line and 1 block West of the premier upper-crust street in the old part of the city. I absolutely loved learning about the patterns and reactions that shaped the surrounding West side neighborhoods, and I haven't been able to shut up about the things I learned. Many of my casual conversations about where I live have been tinged with an unspoken prejudice and all too typical assumptions, and I relish these new facts I've learned about and can't help but explain certain things that happened _TO_ black residents. So yeah, I loved the book. Why only 4 stars? Mainly because I wanted much more on the subject. Subjects like bus company collusion, citizens' efforts to thwart highway construction, and the specifics of the 1968 riots were so minimally covered that I couldn't help but feel shorted. I don't want to suggest that a retired newspaper columnist using English as a second language _should_ have pumped out a more scholarly, exhaustive tome, because I appreciated the easy style of the book (composed significantly from interviews, we learn at the end, which may explain why some people get significant coverage while others less so) but I wanted a bigger picture once we got into the true downfall of the city following the war.I suppose this book would register with anybody curious about other cities with insidious and long-lasting segregation patterns (Chicago, Detroit), and I'd recommend it to anybody interested in why our older cities are the way they are, but the local insight truly made this a special read for me.
review 2: A riveting account of segregationist real estate practices, blockbusting, racism and other factors that shaped Baltimore. The biographical sketches of important figures in local business and politics such as Joseph Meyerhof, Dale Anderson and Little Willie Adams drew me in and were quite enlightening. The book does seem to assume the reader has first-hand knowledge of the many neighborhoods mentioned, more maps and reference pictures would have been needed if I wasn't a local. As someone who has often wondered how Baltimore city has decayed so horribly in certain areas that were once grand mansions, this book gave me many answers. Not an easy read for me emotionally, I almost threw this book across the room a dozen times, it's a worthwhile read that answered some old questions and provided some new ones to ponder. less

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