Not Alms but Opportunity: The Urban League and the Politics of Racial Uplift, 1910-1950

273 Pages·2008·1.37 MB·English

by  Touré F. Reed

NOT ALMS
BUT OPPORTUNITY
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■ ■ TOURÉ F. REED
NOT ALMS
BUT OPPORTUNITY
The Urban League & the Politics
of Racial Uplift, 1910–1950
■ ■ The University of North Carolina Press
Chapel Hill
∫ 2008 The University of North Carolina Press
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Designed by Heidi Perov
Set in Warnock with Champion Heavyweight and Univers
by Keystone Typesetting, Inc.
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence
and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for
Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Reed, Touré F.
Not alms but opportunity : the Urban League and the politics of
racial uplift, 1910–1950 / Touré F. Reed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-8078-3223-3 (cloth: alk. paper)
isbn 978-0-8078-5902-5 (pbk.: alk. paper)
1. National Urban League—History—20th century. 2. African Americans—
New York (State)—New York—Social conditions—20th century. 3. African
Americans—Illinois—Chicago—Social conditions—20th century. 4. Social
classes—New York (State)—New York—History—20th century. 5. Social
classes—Illinois—Chicago—History—20th century. 6. New York (N.Y.)—
Social conditions—20th century. 7. Chicago (Ill.)—Social conditions—20th
century. 8. African Americans—Social conditions—To 1964. 9. African
Americans—Economic conditions—20th century. I. Title.
e185.5.n33r44 2008
305.896%07307470904—dc22 2008007810
cloth 12 11 10 09 08 5 4 3 2 1
paper 12 11 10 09 08 5 4 3 2 1
Tomyfatherandfriend
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Contents
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xv
Abbreviations xvii
Introduction 1
1 The Ideological Origins of the Urban League 11
2 Community Development and Housing, 1910–1932 27
3 Vocational Training, Employment, and Job Placements,
1910–1932 59
4 Labor Unions, Social Reorganization, and the Acculturation
of Black Workers, 1910–1932 81
5 Vocational Guidance and Organized Labor during the New Deal,
1933–1940 107
6 Employment from the March on Washington to the Pilot
Placement Project, 1940–1950 139
7 Housing and Neighborhood Work in the Age of the
Welfare State, 1933–1950 169
Conclusion 191
Notes 197
Bibliography 235
Index 245
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Illustrations
E. Franklin Frazier 24
George E. Haynes 33
Ira D. Reid 75
Charles S. Johnson 89
Eugene K. Jones 121
Lester Granger conversing with U.S. Naval personnel 149
Elmer Carter and Nelson A. Rockefeller 188