A unique insight into desegregation in the suburbs and how racial inequality persists
Half of Black Americans who live in the one hundred largest metropolitan areas are now living in suburbs, not cities. In Liberty Road, Gregory Smithsimon shows us how this happened, and why it matters, unearthing the hidden role that suburbs played in establishing the Black middle-class.
Focusing on Liberty Road, a Black middle-class suburb of Baltimore, Smithsimon tells the remarkable story of how residents broke the color barrier, against all odds, in the face of racial discrimination, tensions with suburban whites and urban Blacks, and economic crises like the mortgage meltdown of 2008. Drawing on interviews, census data, and archival research he shows us the unique strategies that suburban Black residents in Liberty Road employed, creating a blueprint for other Black middle-class suburbs.
Smithsimon re-orients our perspective on race relations in American life to consider the lived experiences and lessons of those who broke the color barrier in unexpected places. Liberty Road shows us that if we want to understand Black America in the twenty-first century, we must look not just to our cities, but to our suburbs as well.

eBook - ePub
Liberty Road
Black Middle-Class Suburbs and the Battle Between Civil Rights and Neoliberalism
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
Liberty Road
Black Middle-Class Suburbs and the Battle Between Civil Rights and Neoliberalism
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Half Title Page
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- Introduction: Arriving on Liberty Road
- 1. Beyond Blockbusting: How Racial Transition Works
- 2. Building a Black Community: Activists Bring Racial Transition to the Suburbs
- 3. Desegregation: Resident Activists Craft a New Story in the Suburbs
- 4. Growth: How Suburban Space Reshapes Black Community Issues and Politics
- 5. Barriers: The Right to the City and Changing Suburban Space
- 6. Foreclosure: Punctuated Equilibrium
- 7. Conservative Politics: Left and Right or Black and White?
- Conclusion: The Future of the Black Middle Class and Suburbia
- Acknowledgments
- Notes
- Index
- About the Author
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Yes, you can access Liberty Road by Gregory Smithsimon in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & African American Studies. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.