Customer Reviews

White Metropolis: Race, Ethnicity, and Religion in Dallas, 1841-2001

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Michael Phillips presents an interesting history of Dallas with "White Metropolis". His analysis of White, Black, Hispanic, and Jewish Dallasites since 1841 is fascinating. (For example, he offers a compact history of the Dallas KKK and its late 19th century early 20th century strangle-hold on city politics.)

Although he occasionally gets side tracked by the Black Civil Rights agenda Dr. Phillips tells a compelling story about how Big D emerged from a provincial Texas back-water to become a leading southern city. The book's 184 pages (paperback) are divided into 7 chapters.

As a native Dallasite, I often marveled at the city's various strange atmospheres through the 1960s and 1970s. Phillips has helped me to understand those turbulent and caustic days and nights. It's a wonder, as he points out, that the city did not erupt into murderous violence more often through its troubled history.

He provides substantial documentation, photos (20 total), statistics, eye witness interviews, and primary source documentation throughout the book. "White Metropolis'" 22 page bibliography will prove particularly helpful to future researchers.

This book is recommendable to those wanting to know more about Dallas, Texas historians, and civil rights documenters. This history of Big D earns a big A!

I just finished reading White Metropolis, and was pleased to see the book reviewed favorably in today's Dallas Morning News as well, because, frankly, this is a book that truly deserves widespread attention and favorable notice. Until George Bush's presidency, I think I'd underestimated the impact that Texas has on the politics of the United States, but I'm now beginning to realize that the forces that Phillips talks about -- and in some cases exposes -- in his book are at play throughout the nation. Behind-the scenes politics, a network of cronies running the show, and an undercurrent of racism seem to drive many decisions and policies. Phillips is amazing at deconstructing the history to understand the roots of "Texas-Style politics" and the dominance of the "White Metropolis" style of management that has prevailed in Dallas, and spread throughout Texas and now the nation. Phillips writes in the book: "In the late 1930s, one Hispanic child in Dallas told a researcher, 'I don't like being a Mexican. I want to be an American.' To which Dallas Morning News reviewer Craig Fluornoy says: "That is exactly the sort of statement that Dallas leaders have wanted the community to forget. It is Dr. Phillips' great achievement to make sure that will not happen." He's right. Dallas leaders, the Dallas/Fort Worth community, Texans -- and, actually, anyone interested in why America seems to be headed in the wrong direction -- should read this book.

Anyone who wants to understand the culture of Texas, and its impact on today's culture wars needs to read Michael Phillips book. As someone who relocated to Dallas and lived there for years before moving to Florida, I never quite understood whether Dallas was Southern, or Western, and our current President has certainly attempted to make Texas itself seem far more "Western." Yet Phillips -- in a style that makes it read like a compelling novel! -- explains it all, in context, and pulls back the curtain and reveals Dallas for what it is, a racist Southern city in a mask. Phillips has made a powerful contribution to the nation's understanding of a complex and fascinating --- but in some cases quite frightening -- city.

This compelling book goes a long way toward explaining Dallas's dysfunctional political machine by exposing the history and nature of its engine. According to Phillips, political power in Dallas has always been partitioned on a sliding scale of "whiteness", with WASPs at the top, African Americans at the bottom, and everyone else (notably Jews and Hispanics) jockeying for position in between-- a practice that is still in effect today. The evidence for Phillips' argument is overwhelming and it will be interesting to see the reaction to this book (if any) by Dallas's power structure and its critics. Phillips spares no one, including Dallas's current civil rights activists, whom he accuses of taking only a superficial stab at real change and minority empowerment.

Well, turns out that the author of the book happens to be my history class teacher in college. Isn't that neat? I like to read, however history is not my strogest subject: toooo much reading. The book arrived in great condition and I'm enjoying it. There's a lot of things I'm learning about Dallas: the city in which I live. I reccommend this book to my fellow Dallasites.

Prior to reading this book I knew almost nothing about the history of Dallas, despite having spent a great deal of time there. That is no longer true. I found this book informative, strong in its point of view, and impressive in documentation of the author's arguments. The book is fascinating reading, balancing detail with illustrative anecdotal material. Must reading for anyone interested in Southern US history and in American civil rights.

This was required reading in my Texas History class. Yes, Dallas has a history of racism (please find me a major city in the U.S. that has not had a history of racism), but Phillips is bound and determined to paint the entire city of Dallas as if all white citizens were awful, mean, hateful and spiteful. It's so lopsided to the extreme that anyone reading this book would think Dallas is the core of racist ideals in the nation and world.
Certainly the book has some strong arguments about the rich elite in Dallas wanting to stay in control of everything (again, what major city during the Guilded Age or with Progressive beliefs didn't have this same belief?!), but there is no evidence from Phillips that he had any interest in discussing both sides of the issue. On top of this, the last 50 pages seem as if the author had to zip thru and just put something on pages to finish the book on time. It's a waste of text as he skims over major issues in Dallas over the last 30+ years which allows him to leave readers thinking Dallas must be just like it was 100 years ago.

If you have to read this book for a history class then read it. Otherwise, read it with skepticism as any good historian should.