“A New Reality of Harlem”

Imagining the African American Urban Future during the 1960s

Bibliographic Data

ID23213623
AuthorsDaniel Matlin (King's College London, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume52
Issue04
Pages991-1024
Publication date2018-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of American Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-8758 • E-ISSN: 1469-5154
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0021875817000949
OpenAlexW2605120215
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited25

Envisioning Harlem's future served as a particularly vivid means of addressing the dilemmas posed by the prospect of desegregation. Should black peoplehood – in part a legacy of oppression and racialization – persist in a post-segregation era? This article calls for greater attention to be paid to the visions of future existence that animated, and were animated by, the black freedom struggles of the 1960s. It explores contrasting architectural reimaginings of Harlem and argues that ideas about existing black places and the nature of their built environment were important factors in shaping commitments to, and idealizations of, both integrationist and black nationalist futures.

Aesthetics · African american · Art · Desegregation · Futures contract · Harlem Renaissance · Nationalism · Oppression · Political science · Politics · Race (biology) · Racialization · Sociology · Vision · White (mutation) · American Political and Social Dynamics · Anthropology · Gender Studies · Law · Race, History, and American Society · Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies

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