The Battle for Harmony": Intergroup Relations Between Blacks and Latinos in Philadelphia, 1950S to 1980S (original) (raw)

This dissertation is a case study that explores black and Latino relations in North Philadelphia neighborhoods from the 1950s through the 1980s. It draws upon community organization records, local government documents,newspapers, and oral histories. In the fifties and sixties, scarce housing, language barriers, Puerto Ricans’ ambiguous racial identity, and slow adaptation by local institutions contributed to racial tension and social segregation. But from the late sixties through the late seventies, black-Latino relationships markedly improved. During this crucial decade, blacks and Latinos increasingly drew upon their shared circumstances to form strategic alliances. They used grassroots organizing to pressure existing institutions, focusing on basic issues like schools, housing, and police. Coinciding developments like the election of a racially-polarizing mayoral administration and greater federal funding for antipoverty programs boosted these efforts. The Philadelphia case provi...