The South Side: The Racial Transformation of an American Neighborhood

by Louis Rosen

A powerful and moving story of the racial transformation of an American neighborhood, told in memoir and oral narrative. It deserves to become a classic....This text needs to be understood and performed at least as regularly as Thornton Wilder's Our Town. —Sandy Primm, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Race

189 pages, Hardcover

First published May 25, 1998

Reviews

[Sherrill Woodard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really appreciated this short little book (I binge read it easily in one afternoon). The interview style made me feel connected to the story and the wide range of emotions of both the Jewish and Black families. Such a missed opportunity for all of these people and the possibility of forming community together. It was painful to read about friendships and families being needlessly separated- as one character said, “like getting a tooth pulled without need”. But I found myself equally frustrated and empathetic with the white families who took part in the flight, which kind of surprised me. What a challenging time in our country’s history and, while I’d like to say with confidence I would have faught harder, dug in my heals and stayed, I just can’t say that honestly. It’s a quick read and very worth the knowledge and perspective it offers.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is something of an oral history of the changeover in racial composition of one particular neighborhood of the South Shore neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. Rosen combines fictionalization of the individual narrators with actual details of the neighborhood. Rosen interviews a relatively small circle of his own acquaintances from his childhood there. As a result, the portrait that emerges is somewhat narrow, but Rosen does manage to show the complicated nature of the motivations of the people involved and of the resulting social changes. His book usefully points out how calling the "white flight" that took place there the result of racism is far too simplistic.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating read about the changing face of the South Side of Chicago during the 60s. Written almost like a play script, it uses real interviews of the Jewish and African American populations as they give their memories and emotions of the period of White Flight and race relations of the period.

[Dan Filler · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a kid who grew up in South Shore in the 1960's and 70's, this book was a compelling account of the half decade that preceded my awareness. Rosen captures history, emotions, and the complex web of memories of a period of radical transition.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book