Someone Else's House America's Unfinished Struggle for Integration

In this detailed history of relations between blacks and whites in the post-civil rights era, journalist Tamar Jacoby looks at how the ideal of integration has fared since it was first advocated by Martin Luther King, Jr., arguing that though blacks have made enormous economic, political, and social progress, a true sense of community has remained elusive. Her story leads us through the volatile world of New York in the 1960s, the center of liberal idealism about race; Detroit in the 1970s, under its first black mayor, Coleman Young; and Atlanta in the 1980s and ’90s, ruled by a coalition of white businessmen and black politicians. Based on extensive research and local reporting, her vivid, dramatic account evokes the special flavor of each city and decade, and gives voice to a host of ordinary individuals struggling to translate a vision into a reality.

Tamar Jacoby is president of Opportunity America. She is a nationally known journalist and author. Her articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Weekly Standard and Foreign Affairs, among other publications, and she is a regular guest on national television and radio.

REVIEWS:

Publishers Weekly 5-11-98
The New Leader David Kusnet, 6-29-98
Enough Blame To Go Around New York Times, Alan Wolfe, 6-21-98
Civil Rights in America: No Alternative The Economist, 8-98
Whatever Became of Integration The Washington Post
The Closing of the American City The New Republic, James Q. Wilson, 5-11-98
America’s struggle for integration is never ending The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Michael Skube, 5-24-98
Why We Haven’t Overcome Detroit Free Press, Barbara Stanton, 5-31-98
Remember the Dream The Wall Street Journal, Julia Vitullo-Martin, 5-28-98
Cruel Ironies in Ebb and Flow of Integration Over the Decades The Washington Times, Ward Connerly, 6-21-98
Talking the Talk on Race New York Observer, Richard Brookhiser, 6-22-98
’Integration of the Heart’ Remains Elusive Detroit News, Jeffrey Fladden, 7-31-98
America the Various, The Washington Post
A Tale of Three Cities Commentary, Daniel Casse, 7-98
What Went Wrong on the Way to Integration Business Week, Judith Levine, 7-6-98
Explaining Why America Is Still a House Divided Forward, Jonathan Mahler, 7-24-98
Houses Divided National Review, Lino Graglia, 8-17-98
The Best of Intentions First Things, Scott McConnell, 10-98
Worlds Apart: At the Heart of Our Racial Problems is the Failure of Integration The Washington Monthly, Robert Worth, 10-98