If There Is No Struggle There Is No Progress

Black Politics in Twentieth-Century Philadelphia

James Wolfinger

• Publisher: Temple University Press
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781439919279, 9781439919262
• eBook ISBN: 9781439919286
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: Social Sciences

Philadelphia has long been a crucial site for the development of Black politics across the nation. If There Is No Struggle There Is No Progress provides an in-depth historical analysis—from the days of the Great Migration to the present—of the people and movements that made the city a center of political activism. The editor and contributors show how Black activists have long protested against police abuse, pushed for education reform, challenged job and housing discrimination, and put presidents in the White House.  

If There Is No Struggle There Is No Progress emphasizes the strength of political strategies such as the "Don't Buy Where You Can't Work" movement and the Double V campaign. It demonstrates how Black activism helped shift Philadelphia from the Republican machine to Democratic leaders in the 1950s and highlights the election of politicians like Robert N. C. Nix, Sr., the first African American representative from Philadelphia. In addition, it focuses on grassroots movements and the intersection of race, gender, class, and politics in the 1960s, and shows how African Americans from the 1970s to the present challenged Mayor Frank Rizzo and helped elect Mayors Wilson Goode, John Street, and Michael Nutter. 

If There Is No Struggle There Is No Progress cogently makes the case that Black activism has long been a powerful force in Philadelphia politics.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Maps of Philadelphia
• Foreword / Heather Ann Thompson
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction / James Wolfinger
• 1. Old Philadelphians, the Great Migration, and the Irony of Progressive Politics / Clem Harris
• 2. Building Black Philadelphia / David A. Canton
• 3. The Great Depression and World War II / Stanley Keith Arnold
• 4. Postwar Philadelphia / Abigail Perkiss
• 5. The 1960s and Expanding Ideas of Black Rights / Clem Harris
• 6. African American Politics in Frank Rizzo’s Philadelphia / Timothy J. Lombardo
• 7. Taking Political Power / Alyssa Ribeiro
• 8. The Insurgent Nature of Black Politics in Contemporary Philadelphia / Stephen J. McGovern
• Appendix
• List of Contributors
• Illustration Credits
• Index