The Accommodation: The Politics of Race in an American City
- Downloads：2487
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-09-18 17:21:11
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Jim Schutze
- ISBN：1646050967
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Reviews
Cathal Mayfield
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Know the author。 A great man， and a great book too。
Pat
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It took weeks to get this book thru an inter library loan。 Written in the late 1980s， it is an incredibly sad look at what Dallas was like from the 20s until the 80s and how terribly Blacks were treated。 And not all of it has changed today。Texas was not treated as the South during Civil Rights， but slaves brought to Texas after Reconstruction were actually treated worse than in the South。 The types of slave owners that came to Texas were different than the wealthy plantation owners and didn’t re It took weeks to get this book thru an inter library loan。 Written in the late 1980s， it is an incredibly sad look at what Dallas was like from the 20s until the 80s and how terribly Blacks were treated。 And not all of it has changed today。Texas was not treated as the South during Civil Rights， but slaves brought to Texas after Reconstruction were actually treated worse than in the South。 The types of slave owners that came to Texas were different than the wealthy plantation owners and didn’t recognize Blacks as anything other than chattel。 Those attitudes are very slowly evolving and it explains a lot about how middle， low class whites are still fearful of Blacks。 Frankly， they should be after the policies and attitudes of the past。The story is how Dallas accommodated desegregation through deception and control。 Blacks didn’t riot in Dallas， but it was how gaining humanness and freedom was earned in other cities。Many of us in Texas have recognized the changes that still must be made。 Too sadly， the gun toting ignorant whites， including those in the State Legislature， continue to hold us back from being the society that recognizes all human rights。 。。。more
Alli
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Looking forward to reading this again - using a legit text and not a bootleg PDF: https://store。deepvellum。org/products。。。 Looking forward to reading this again - using a legit text and not a bootleg PDF: https://store。deepvellum。org/products。。。 。。。more
Richard
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This book， written by a Dallas journalist， was published in 1987。 Deeply offensive to the city's powers-that-be， it disappeared quickly from the shelves of local bookstores， and was unable to find a publisher for a second printing。 Yet somehow， it has survived。Essentially an overview of Dallas' history and self-image， and how the city treated the disenfranchised people who did not fit into Dallas's comfortable picture of itself， the book is deeply fascinating and sometimes terrifying。 By the 50' This book， written by a Dallas journalist， was published in 1987。 Deeply offensive to the city's powers-that-be， it disappeared quickly from the shelves of local bookstores， and was unable to find a publisher for a second printing。 Yet somehow， it has survived。Essentially an overview of Dallas' history and self-image， and how the city treated the disenfranchised people who did not fit into Dallas's comfortable picture of itself， the book is deeply fascinating and sometimes terrifying。 By the 50's， business leaders in Dallas had worked together to consolidate power and create a power structure with a success-oriented， can-do attitude， focused on wealth， power， and the trappings of success。 Every problem was viewed as an obstacle to that success， the solution a question of what was best for the city。Or rather， for the White elite of the city。 This meant that if the city wanted to build on a piece of land owned by Black property owners， they found a solution - which often meant forcing those property owners to move to another， less desirable property。 When the homes of middle-class blacks who dared to move into white Dallas neighborhoods were bombed in the 50's， the city saw it not in moral or human terms， but as a problem that needed to be solved， to protect the city's interests。 When Blacks in the rest of the country began protesting， in Dallas it was a business problem。 And， in typical Dallas fashion， the problem was "solved" by working with the more conservative leaders of the Black community to find an accommodation that allowed the Black leaders to feel that they had made some sort of progress， while allowing the White power structure to continue to control the narrative。 This accommodation， which is at the heart of the book， may have prevented some of the violence seen elsewhere in the 60's， but set Dallas race relations back by decades compared to the rest of the country。 Occasionally a little hard to follow， and sometimes a bit of a screed， the book is nonetheless deeply fascinating， and worth a read not only for Dallasites interested in understanding the history and nature of their city， but for anyone interested in the history of race relations in our country。On a strictly personal note， as a Californian who moved to Dallas around 1980， I found it fascinating to learn about the people whose names appear on Dallas landmarks - highways， bridges， luxury stores。 In the book， some appeared as villains， others， sometimes surprisingly， as heroes。 I have to confess to a growing admiration for one person I had already considered - based on the words of a friend - as a true gentleman。Equally fascinating to me is the history of the book itself。 While it struggled to find a publisher for its first edition， which quickly disappeared from Dallas shelves and has not yet been reprinted， it has become a bit of an underground phenomenon， appearing online in everything from legally questionable PDFs to hourly， sentence-by-sentence tweets。 And now a small Dallas publisher has acquired the rights and will be reprinting it soon， with the proceeds going to a local non-profit。 I was fortunate enough to find a library copy to read， but have already pre-ordered my own copy。 。。。more
Daniel Penrod
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I was told that if I ever wanted to understand race relations in my adopted home city of Dallas， I must read Jim Schutze’s 1986 book， The Accommodation。 After a 2 month long search， I was finally able to obtain a copy。 The gist of this book is that Black and white residents of Dallas made an accommodation with each other in the early 1950s。 Even with extensive police patrols， whites were bombing homes owned by Black residents in white neighborhoods — and getting away with it。 In return for the b I was told that if I ever wanted to understand race relations in my adopted home city of Dallas， I must read Jim Schutze’s 1986 book， The Accommodation。 After a 2 month long search， I was finally able to obtain a copy。 The gist of this book is that Black and white residents of Dallas made an accommodation with each other in the early 1950s。 Even with extensive police patrols， whites were bombing homes owned by Black residents in white neighborhoods — and getting away with it。 In return for the bombings to stop， Black residents were allowed by white leadership to move into a newly created Black neighborhood， Hamilton Park。 Because of this deal， the civil rights movement was not nearly as aggressive as it was in other American cities， setting the cause of civil rights in Dallas back decades。 It details how entire Black neighborhoods were razed to benefit whites。 How Black residents were denied the right to buy homes in most of the city and earn equity。 How the white power structure only recognized certain conservative Black residents as city leaders， and how the purpose of the police was to protect whites from Black residents。Aside from the shocking stories， this book is extremely well-written。 The author was decades ahead of his time， and his work is worthy of accolades。 It feels as if it were written yesterday， as opposed to over 30 years ago。 This book is a must-read for anyone interested in race relations， or understanding the power structure of the 9th largest city in the US。 。。。more
Justin Bitner
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Really interesting context around the 1950s and 1960s in Dallas。 It is amazing how many parallels there are to today。
Ayo
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Great book regarding race relations in my hometown。 Fond remembrances of the people mentions。 I live through this period and it’s accurately told。
Jordan
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Not a perfect book but a really important perspective on the history of race relations in Dallas。 Worth reading if you can get your hands on a copy （the library wait list is months long）。
Mellie
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My Overall Thoughts:I waited seven months to receive this book from the Dallas Public Library。 It was worth the wait。 The Accommodation tells the story of Dallas’s history， particularly in the 1950s - 1960s and how race and class shaped the city then and now。 It’s a must read， especially for those who currently call Dallas home。Who I Think Would Enjoy This Book:Anyone who enjoys learning about history， race， culture and politics。
Linda
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The American city。。。Dallas。 A time when oligarchy was the rule of the city with no equal representation of all the races。 When the white rule was so so visible that there was no reason to think there was any other way。 A difficult book to find （you may have to go to Interlibrary Loan or pay $1000）， one will realize that ultimately a city has to do the right thing， even if it goes kicking and screaming。 A nonfiction tribute to the ones who "stuck to their guns" and hopefully will continue to im The American city。。。Dallas。 A time when oligarchy was the rule of the city with no equal representation of all the races。 When the white rule was so so visible that there was no reason to think there was any other way。 A difficult book to find （you may have to go to Interlibrary Loan or pay $1000）， one will realize that ultimately a city has to do the right thing， even if it goes kicking and screaming。 A nonfiction tribute to the ones who "stuck to their guns" and hopefully will continue to improve this large city in Texas。 。。。more
Mdutch
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Dallas is somewhat unique in American cities， and "challenged" when it comes to race relations。 Its government through the 20th century was steered by the heavy business interests of the Dallas Citizen's Council。 De Facto segregation was the norm， and the white business and city leaders worked closely with Black pastors and churches to minimize racial tension。Jim Schutze is an insightful journalist and a Dallas treasure。 This book from 1986 takes a cold， hard look at Dallas politics in the 1960s Dallas is somewhat unique in American cities， and "challenged" when it comes to race relations。 Its government through the 20th century was steered by the heavy business interests of the Dallas Citizen's Council。 De Facto segregation was the norm， and the white business and city leaders worked closely with Black pastors and churches to minimize racial tension。Jim Schutze is an insightful journalist and a Dallas treasure。 This book from 1986 takes a cold， hard look at Dallas politics in the 1960s and how the backroom deals allowed the city to escape the riots and Black Power movement。If I could afford it， I would buy a copy for every citizen of Dallas to read。 Our "history" is mostly told in glossy magazine puff pieces。 Schutze takes a thought provoking look at the uglier side of our past。 。。。more
Brian Hughes
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a must-read， likely from the library since it is pro-actively out of print， about the racial backdrop of the city of Dallas。 Completely helps unveil some of the systemic ways in which race undergirded the day to day structures of the city， and the results of that systemic racial bias on the city and its citizens。 challenging and fascinating and infuriating book
Mustafa
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