The social construction of a Black suburban community: A case study of Runyon Heights, Yonkers, New York, 1912-1994.
Item
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Title
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The social construction of a Black suburban community: A case study of Runyon Heights, Yonkers, New York, 1912-1994.
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Identifier
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AAI9605600
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identifier
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9605600
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Creator
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Haynes, Bruce Daniel.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Stephen Steinberg
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Date
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1995
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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History, Black | Sociology, Ethnic and Racial Studies | History, United States
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Abstract
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Studies of the black middle class have failed to analyze the group within the context of community development. Studies of suburban communities have neglected to adequately document the establishment of black homeowners in suburban areas. Using in-depth face-to-face interviews, supplemented by historical archives, census data, voting records, and field observations, this analysis explores the development of the only middle-class, black, suburban community in the City of Yonkers, New York. Both aggregate and micro level data are used to explore the relationship between racial identity, class stratification, and community organization.;The community itself represents a historical anomaly. Overcoming widespread racial discrimination and ghettoization in Yonkers, a group of blacks forged a stable middle-class suburban community outside the confines of the developing working-class and poor ghetto. Our historical analysis indicates that community residents reproduced a racial identity and consciousness in order to maintain their community and defend their material and class interests. In addition, residents used their material and educational advantages in order to champion the cause of racial equality. The specific residential area provided the locale for the politicization of racial identity, as residents attempted to defend against school gerrymandering, low-income housing, welfare hotels, and industrial and commercial encroachment. Community members sought to negotiate their self-interests along both race and class lines. Our findings suggest that racial identity is largely based in the racialization of residential space. Its existence remains a necessary consequence of the ongoing racial subordination experienced by middle-class black Americans in the nation's suburbs.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
