Thomas Sugrue's The Origins Of The Urban Crisis

“In the early 1940’s, Detroit was at its industrial zenith, leading the nation in economic escape from the Great Depression” (Sugrue 19). However, today Detroit does not carry the same legacy’s it once did. It wasn’t until after WWII that Detroit suffered this shift. In his book, “The Origins of the Urban Crisis”, historian Thomas Sugrue strives to give an explanation to this shift and find the answer to why Detroit has become the site of persistent racialized poverty and what exactly caused the urban crisis in post WWII Detroit. Sugrue found that Detroits situation was not predetermined (Capeci 1718). Instead, it was the decisions of individuals, white middle class families, and organizations that dictated the lives of thousands of African Americans. Only after deep research and a series of case studies was Sugrue able to determine that Detroit suffered through an urban crisis due to corrupt public …show more content…
As black families moved into the suburbs that were previously all white, they faced violent attacks, picketing, and racism. Community organizations, supposedly used to better neighborhoods, actively resisted integration. They would gather for emergency meeting when it was discovered that a black family had moved in nearby. During meetings the members would decide how to respond to their situation. Teenagers were especially violent when it came to direct assault. Women were used to make the black movement look like a “threat to virtuoso womanhood, innocent childhood, and the sanctity of the home” (Sugrue 250). They would picket during the day, usually accompanied by their children who had not yet reached school age. Men would then lead the demonstrations at night. Often, these demonstrations involved breaking windows of homes with black residence and starting small fires on their