Harlem: The Making of a Ghetto : Negro New York, 1890-1930 [Paperback]

Gilbert Osofsky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1996

A great many books have been written about Harlem, but for social history none has surpassed Gilbert Osofsky's account of how a pleasant, pastoral upper-middle-class suburb of Manhattan turned into an appalling black slum within forty years. Mr. Osofsky sets his chronicle against the background of pre-Harlem black life in New York City and in the context of the radical changes in race relations in America in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He traces Harlem's change to the largest segregated neighborhood in the nation and then its fall to a slum. Throughout he neatly balances statistics and humanly revealing details. "A careful and important study.... Osofsky at once takes his place alongside James Weldon Johnson, Claude McKay, and others who have looked at Harlem at close range."—John Hope Franklin. "A pioneering scholarly achievement.... Although the subject engages his compassion, his presentation is rigorously straightforward and unsentimental and therefore all the more valuable as social analysis."—New York Times Book Review

Editorial Reviews

Review

Osofsky asks questions that really matter and writes with vigor and clarity of a man who knows precisely what he wants to say. The result is an interesting narrative combined with provocative analysis of an important subject. (Arthur Mann American Historical Review )

A pioneering scholarly achievement. (New York Times Book Review )

More than a mere picture of Harlem, colorful and exciting as it is, this is also a careful and important study of the way in which a ghetto develops. (John Hope Franklin )

About the Author

Gilbert Osofsky taught American history at the University of Illinois at Chicago before his death in 1974. His other books include Puttin’ on Ole Massa and The Burden of Race.

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Ivan R Dee (February 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566631041
• ISBN-13: 978-1566631044
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #218,751 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent scholarship and research, February 23, 2004

By 

R. J. Marsella (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Harlem: The Making of a Ghetto : Negro New York, 1890-1930 (Paperback)

In this book osofsky managed to present detailed and well documented research regarding the afro-american migration to and settlement of Harlem during the early 20th century. By first laying the groundwork of presenting a parallel examination of Harlem before this period and the black migration to New York he manages to create a fascinating and very readable historical document. The economic forces in play at the time are presented as being equally important to the development of Harlem as the social and political climate of the day. Real Estate speculations and a boom and subsequent bust coincided with the building of mass transit that made the upper reaches of Manhattan more accessable.
The book would benefit from the inclusion of some historical photos. However as a pure historical treatise it is extremely informative and readable. I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in the history of New York City or Afro- American history. I was traveling down 125th street just yesterday while reading this and the buildings that date from this period held new signifcance for me.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An endearing look at one of society's ills, March 9, 2000

By 

M. PARADISO-MICHAU (Columbus, OH (USA)) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Harlem: The Making of a Ghetto : Negro New York, 1890-1930 (Paperback)

Osofsky really gets into the subject of ghetto creation. Unlike the European immigrants who ghettoized themselves and then were able to climb up society's ladder, Osofsky argues that this possibility was inaccessible to Harlem's black population, with minor exceptions.. As a student of Chicago's housing issues, this is as true today as it was in the beginning of the last century. As a result of this moving book, I feel like I have lived in the squalor of Harlem's ghettos and slums, and I have never been to NYC.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Harlem: The making of a Ghetto: Negro New York 1890-1930, March 9, 2010

By 

Free Spirit "Enrique" (New York) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Harlem: The Making of a Ghetto : Negro New York, 1890-1930 (Paperback)

The reading was not about what I thought it would be. I thought it was going to go into the jazz age, but otherwise not bad. It gave a brief history of the early years of how Harlem got to be. What an irony that Harlem wasn't always a ghetto, it was a whealthy neighborhood. Jews and Italians used to live there back in the 1800's and early nineteenth century. How it has change over the years, comparing it to the way it is now, I don't think it has change much in it's ecomomic situation, and also in it's crime and vice. Harlem was where the rich and well to do had their mansions and estates. I went to school in Harlem and I remember I believe it was Hamiltons house there in 143 street and convent ave. They have moved it some where else very few of these historical landmarks are still around New York today.