Race and the Shaping of Twentieth-Century Atlanta

A richly detailed, perceptive examination of the powerful force of race in shaping the American city. Bayor has expertly and graphically portrayed the enormous burden in time, energy, dollars, human pain, and wasted human resources levied by urban racism and the policy of apartheid.--American Historical Review

A marvelous study of the role of race in the development of Atlanta. . . . Well-written and analytically engaging, Race and the Shaping of Twentieth-Century Atlanta makes a substantial contribution toward developing a broader understanding of the importance of race in the planning, development and administration of twentieth-century urban America and will prove valuable reading for historians of African America, city planners, urban historians and anyone else who is interested in understanding the complexity of the forces at work in American cities, and how at least one American city has come to be the way it is.--Journal of Social History

In writing his revealing portrait of Atlanta, Bayor has taken a fresh perspective by analyzing white racism as a determinant of spatial development, of the growth of social and economic institutions, and of the course of politics in the twentieth century. . . . Bayor has added significantly to our understanding of the implications of race by demonstrating the costs of segregation for white as well as for black citizens, both of whom were losers as Atlanta grew and apparently prospered.--Journal of Southern History

This comprehensive presentation of race as the principal factor in the shaping of a city is a valuable contribution to urban and African-American history.--Reviews in American History

Energized with insights and anecdotal information. . . . An important and ground-breaking study of Atlanta and its development during the twentieth century. Ron Bayor's book is a must-read for those who study the history of this city.--Atlanta History

A significant historical account of deplorable, and often appalling, developments. . . . Ronald Bayor's work exposes the vast gap that existed between the pretty racial picture of Atlanta that the city's white power structure consistently tried to purvey and the racial reality.--Mississippi Quarterly

Bayor shows that despite its well known slogan, 'the city too busy to hate,' and its popular image as a progressive southern city, Atlanta's race relations were similar to other segregated cities.--Choice

Time after time, Bayor demonstrates how racially-based policy decisions made during the era of segregation have left a corrosive legacy in Atlanta, despite shifting power relations. While legal segregation has been toppled and African Americans have made political gains, deep racial divides, increasingly intertwined with class, continue to mark the city. . . . Belong[s] on the still short but growing 'must read' list on Atlanta history.--Southern Changes

[Bayor] displays an impressive grasp of how white citizens used public policy to segregate and subordinate black Atlantans--in everything from health care and education to residential patterns and the placement of roads, from elections and employment to parks, and police and fire services. . . . Bayor effectively documents how race, even when unacknowledged, has played a major role in shaping Atlanta.--Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A sweeping assessment. . . . The definitive case study of race relations and public policy in twentieth-century Atlanta. It is extremely well-researched, masterfully argued, and, notwithstanding the abundant detail, easily read.--Journal of American Ethnic History