In the first few chapters of Black Metropolis, St. Clair Drake and Horace R. Cayton provide historical context on the early development of Chicago as the site for an emerging city, which became the American Midwest epicenter that incited significant social, economic and political changes that transformed the country. The authors also establish a foundation that helps to understand the allure of the Windy City, which contributed to the mass exodus of African Americans from the South during the Great Migration that ultimately created the “black metropolis.” While examining the text, what specifically stood out was the following quote: “The distinctive thing about the Black Belt is that while other such “colonies” tend to break up with the passage of time, the Negro area becomes increasingly more concentrated.” This quote indirectly references the …show more content…
However, I am also interested in analyzing the role this played in terms of sociocultural factors that have created the black Southside Chicago mindset in connection to space and the ownership of it. How has the significance of the black belt contributed to what black Chicagoans internalize and understand as their designated space? How do they understand their access to other parts of the city? Do they believe that the black belt is their only safe space in Chicago in a contemporary setting given the remaining large number of blacks on the Southside today? How has the designation of the black belt as the “black metropolis and Bronzeville become a marker of black pride and cultural and historical heritage limited socioeconomic mobility of the residents on an internal level removed from Chicago’s systemic