City Politics and Black Civil Society: The Transformation of Bronzeville and Harlem.

Harlem and Bronzeville, two of the most historic and culturally significant urban African- American communities in America, are currently experiencing major economic transformations. After a middle-class flight and years of economic abandonment, these urban areas are seeing an influx of commercial and residential investment, rapidly changing these communities from low to more mixed-income environments. Although there has been a substantial amount of positive media attention concerning the economic developments in Harlem and Bronzeville, there is little community consensus about the type of development that is occurring, since this development threatens to displace a large amount of current residents. Through a comparative ethnographic approach, this study explores how distinct political landscapes in New York City and Chicago relate to the proliferation of protest politics concerning displacement and redevelopment in these communities. In this paper I argue NYC's diverse political system facilitates contested politics while in comparison Chicago's monolithic party machine is associated with limited community led opposition to redevelopment. This paper contributes to the notion that African-American community politics is, in part, influenced by structural forces emanating from the city level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]