The Making of A Ghetto Negro New York 1830-1930 by Gilbert Osofsky - Essay Example

? Number] Harlem: The Making of A Ghetto' Negro New York 1830-1930 by Gilbert Osofsky The book Harlem: the making of a ghetto: New York 1830-1930 has been regarded as one of the most impressive and well written books about Harlem. The author Gilbert Osofsky has done great justice in the way he writes about a middle class suburb of Manhattan turning into a black slum within forty years. He is an African American and what he has written in his book is an eye opener for many about how Harlem became a ghetto. He has written a beautiful and thought provoking account on the social history that many people would not have known. Throughout the book, Osofsky uses his great appealing writing to attract the reader till the end. With an attractive way of revealing details, he highlights the change of Harlem from being the largest segregated neighborhood in the nation to a slum. He had never been to Harlem or talked to the people there, but the way he wrote about it would tell you much more about the way he has used his mind. There have been many books previously written around the same topic but in most of these books the authors have only tried to look for the history of Negroes from the surface. The growth and development of the Negro communities have not been a very important issue since the civil war. Many people want to study about the Negro life but the material that is available is scanty. There are newspapers and various kinds of documents available through which one can go back to the 20th century. The Negro life in the cities can also be generalized through interviews with elderly people who have seen and experienced how the Negroes have settled their tough lives in the areas. There are a few authors who have researched and talked about the Negro history in their books and Osofsky has written one of the finest books. He has shown a series of events that took place since the Negro Resolution in the 1960’s and how the creation of a Harlem ghetto took place. Since Osofsky has written an account of all the events and details revealed in the series of events, he has made a detailed research about all the history that he could reach up to. The book is well documented about the afro-American migration in the early 20th century. Every new day bought a new turn in the making of the ghetto and Osofsky has managed to analyze every detail in a colorful and informative manner. This book would take you back in the 20th century and bring to you the history that was unrevealed yet eye opening. It shows the period of the black migration and settlement in Harlem exclusively. Gilbert Osofsky has written this book in three parts to make it much clearer and planned out. In the first part, he starts his book with an introduction to the Harlem settlement. Osofsky clearly gives a picture of how Harlem was before this migration. Harlem was a rich neighborhood with no blacks. Instead there were more of Jews and Italians who used to live in that community back in the 1800’s and early nineteenth century. It shows an analysis of the social, economic and political conditions of a community which was known to be one of the finest neighborhoods in the nation. The creation did not greatly bring a change in the economic condition Harlem was in, but it was a change prominent enough to be seen than what it was to what it is now. Harlem was a wealthy area where ministers and rich people used to live in their mansions. He brings out the history of Harlem before the 20th century and then talks about the events through which this migration of the blacks took place. With his brilliant mind and analysis he reaches out the message to the people and convinces them that the social, economic and political factors were the major reasons why Harlem became a slum. These factors were also greatly the causes behind Harlem’s development equally. The real estate guesswork is what made the upper reaches of Manhattan more accessible for the black migration unlike the European immigrants who failed to make place for themselves in the society. Osofsky had discovered the main factors and the depth of the ghetto creation which he has induced in his book to make it a masterpiece. In the first part, he also writes about the black neighborhoods of New York Coty and how there were black neighborhoods in the southern areas of Manhattan. There was always little hope for blacks to be living in New York City and this is what the writer shows to the reader in accordance to the conditions of Harlem. The only troubling thing about the book is that there is lack of political analysis. Without doubt the book has its own position when it is about the change and the migration of the Negroes in Harlem, but the only aspect which might be troubling for the reader is that Osofsky has not mentioned the positive aspects enduring the neighborhood. There is little analysis that he has made on politics which is a barrier for those readers who want answers to their political questions. However, overall the book shows a great way to all the readers towards the history of early 20th centuries. Osofsky has done justice in the way he has formatted and analyzed the different parts of the book. He has shown the economic and social face of the history which was never known. Anyone interested in the history of New York or the Afro-American migration would love this book. It is a treat since it has some of the historic pictures to suit the research. The book could be sought as an excellent source of acquiring information about the Harlem. It is a highly recommendable source for information for people interested in the history of Harlem. Work Cited Gilbert Osofsky. Harlem: The Making of A Ghetto' Negro New York 1830-1930, NY: Harper & Row, 1968 Read More