How the Streets Were Made : Housing Segregation and Black Life in America

In this book, Yelena Bailey examines the creation of the streets not just as a physical, racialized space produced by segregationist policies but also as a sociocultural entity that has influenced our understanding of blackness in America for decades. Drawing from fields such as media studies, literary studies, history, sociology, film studies, and music studies, this book engages in an interdisciplinary analysis of the how the streets have shaped contemporary perceptions of black identity, community, violence, spending habits, and belonging. Where historical and sociological research has examined these realities regarding economic and social disparities, this book analyzes the streets through the lens of marketing campaigns, literature, hip-hop, film, and television in order to better understand the cultural meanings associated with the streets. Because these media represent a terrain of cultural contestation, they illustrate the way the meaning of the streets has been shaped by both the white and black imaginaries as well as how they have served as a site of self-assertion and determination for black communities. Cover 1 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 12 Introduction 16 Chapter One. How the Streets Were Made 30 Chapter Two. The Secret of Selling the Negro: The Creation of Black Urban Consumerism 59 Chapter Three. From The Street to the Streets: Black Literary Production and Urban Space 91 Chapter Four. Music Born of the Streets: Hip-Hop’s Articulations of Urban Life and Identity 114 Chapter Five. A Hood Genre: Visualizing the Streets in TV and Film 139 Conclusion 171 Notes 186 Bibliography 202 Index 216 A 216 B 216 C 217 D 217 E 217 F 218 G 218 H 218 I 219 J 219 K 219 L 219 M 219 N 220 O 220 P 220 Q 221 R 221 S 221 T 222 U 222 V 222 W 222 X 223 Y 223 Z 223 "In this book, Yelena Bailey examines the creation of 'the streets' not just as a physical, racialized space produced by segregationist policies but also as a sociocultural entity that has influenced our understanding of blackness in America for decades. Drawing from fields such as media studies, literary studies, history, sociology, film studies, and music studies, this book engages in an interdisciplinary analysis of the how the streets have shaped contemporary perceptions of black identity, community, violence, spending habits, and belonging"-- Provided by publisher How the streets were made -- The secret of selling the Negro: the creation of black urban consumerism -- From the street to the streets: black literary production and urban space -- Music born of the streets: hip hop's articulations of urban life and identity -- A hood genre: visualizing the streets in TV and film