The Boston renaissance

About this book

"This book brings together sociologists, historians, economists, and geographers to investigate the paradoxical character of contemporary Atlanta.". "Drawing on a large-scale survey of households and employers in the Atlanta region, the authors show how labor market disadvantage, residential segregation, and ingrained racial antipathies reinforce one another to hold back many minority residents. African American workers have done better in Atlanta's booming job market than elsewhere in the country, but they continue to lose ground to white Atlantans. The authors explore whether this widening inequality is due to educational underachievement, racial discrimination, prohibitive distances between work and home, or the isolation of black workers from the informal social networks that provide valuable job information and referrals. The book gives special attention to the multiple obstacles faced by black mothers who must contend with racial and sexual discrimination, as well as juggling the responsibilities of childrearing and work.". "As this volume makes clear, the Atlanta paradox can only be understood in the context of the city's history of legalized segregation and its more recent geographical transformation. Using the survey results, the authors bring fresh evidence to bear on the controversial question of whether Atlanta's lack of integration is the result of discrimination, the financial circumstances of blacks, or the desires of different racial groups to live apart from one another."--BOOK JACKET.