Bitter Fruit: Black Politics and the Chicago Machine, 1931-1991 (New Edition) [Paperback]

William J. Grimshaw (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 1995 | ISBN-10: 0226308944 | ISBN-13: 978-0226308944 | Edition: New

William Grimshaw offers an insider's chronicle of the tangled relationship between the black community and the Chicago Democratic machine from its Great Depression origins to 1991. What emerges is a myth-busting account not of a monolithic organization but of several distinct party regimes, each with a unique relationship to black voters and leaders.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the conventional view, Chicago's black community has swapped votes for favors with the city's monolithic Democratic political machine. But the actual relationship has been far more complex, Grimshaw asserts, and black Chicagoans, continually treated as separate and unequal, are now "out in the cold, embittered, divided and lacking leadership." In this hard-hitting, incisive study, Grimshaw, associate professor of social sciences at the Illinois Institute of Technology, shows how blacks reaped minimal benefits from their relationship with Mayor Richard J. Daley, who ran the city machine from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s. A onetime adviser to former Mayor Harold Washington, Grimshaw views his tenure as one of genuine reform, not simply a black version of old-fashioned patronage. He attributes much of Washington's success, however, to revulsion against what he views as the racist excesses of his predecessor, Jane Byrne. Grimshaw is deeply skeptical of current mayor Richard M. Daley, charging that "Son of Boss" has an ill-defined agenda and deep roots in the machine.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Much has been written about the political machine but little about its effect on minorities. Political activist Grimshaw (social sciences, Illinois Inst. of Technology), has written an extensive study of machine politics in Chicago, specifically from the viewpoint of African Americans. He studies how politicians went out to attract black voters and how the machines often were not as helpful as they could be. He also examines African Americans who worked within the machine and those who worked for political reform. Extremely detailed, with notes and a bibliography, this book is for readers with a knowledge of American politics and is suggested for academic libraries.
- Danna C. Bell-Russel, Marymount Univ. Libs., Arlington, Va.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 262 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; New edition (May 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226308944
• ISBN-13: 978-0226308944
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,085,576 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Complex, April 3, 2007

By 

L. Goldstein "geeklinda" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Bitter Fruit: Black Politics and the Chicago Machine, 1931-1991 (Hardcover)

It's insightful. It's dry. It's daedal (not a typo) and complex and surprisingly interesting.

My professor wrote it and my professor assigned it. He says that Ch.2 is embarrassing and skipped it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth reading, May 28, 2009

By 

Vanessa Allmon "life-long learner" (Chicago, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bitter Fruit: Black Politics and the Chicago Machine, 1931-1991 (New Edition) (Paperback)

Want to understand the black political experience in Chicago? READ THIS BOOK.

Chicago's political past touches its present, as many names of the past have sons or daughters who would assume, and in some cases, surpass, political offices held by their fathers or other relatives.

This book explores many political connections, but more importantly explains how black people voted, for whom and why. This history provides a context for understanding black Chicago's political power, or lack thereof (according to some), in the present day.

Clearly the cover of the book illustrates just how black Chicago progressed politically throughout the 20th century, with Mayor Harold Washington being elected the city's first black mayor.

This book answers a very salient and relevant political question: do black people vote just for race, or do black people make informed rational voting decisions? If you really want to know, read the book!

I attended Loyola University of Chicago as an undergraduate, where I found this book in a bookstore as the assigned text for a black politics class taught by Professor Chris Mannings (historian). Unfortunately my schedule did not allow for me to take the class, but I still purchased the book. As a graduate student at Northwestern University, Professor Al Hunter (sociologist) allowed me to use this book for a paper, as opposed to one of his recommended or assigned readings. I thank them both for helping me to discover this book and use it to explain how socio-economics i.e. class, and not just race, shapes black political thought and consciousness. For any student of politics, this book is well worth reading.

5.0 out of 5 stars Really Great Book-Need More Like This, August 26, 2010

By 

Handsome Johnny - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Bitter Fruit: Black Politics and the Chicago Machine, 1931-1991 (New Edition) (Paperback)

I read this out of interest in the genre. I was thoroughly impressed. I was surprised that, as a Chicagoan, I wasn't familiar with any of the Chicago history in the book and would like to read more on the people in the book, such as Mayors Cermak and Kelly and an elongated, encyclopedic history of the city's politics in the 20th Century. Unfortunately, the book stops right after the second Richard Daley's election. I'd recommend to the writer (William Grimshaw) that he undertake such a venture, if he is still alive. Awesome reading for anyone interested in Chicago, politics, or race relations in America.