The Black Metropolis – James Landy

The Black Metropolis can be considered an African-American city that grew inside of Chicago through segregation of its population as well as a number of other factors that grew from this racism. This metropolis became a ‘capital city’ for African-Americans with The Stroll flourishing as the cultural centre of the Black Metropolis. So how did the Black Metropolis and The Stroll become such important locations for African-Americans in the early 20^th century?  

To understand the formation of the Black Metropolis it is imperative to have a sound understanding of the USA of the early 20^th century. The first aspect necessary to focus on is the history of relationships between African-Americans and the broader American public. It was only in 1865 that the last slaves were freed in the USA which meant that for roughly fifty years former slaves had been struggling to form a life in southern USA as free men and women. While all African-Americans were considered free from slavery, racism was still widespread and even violent, particularly in the south. The prevalence of racism coupled with the low pay and poor living conditions of the south, particularly for for African-Americans, made a southern life exceedingly undesirable and encouraged many to move to more northern cities.

The second relevant aspect of early 20^th century American life is economic opportunity. The desire many African-Americans had to move north was made stronger at the beginning of the First World War when large numbers of American men enlisted and subsequently left the country (and their employment) to fight, resulting in an abundance of jobs across the nation, particularly in blue collar work (railroad work, tanneries, steel mills etc.). This worker shortage led to many African-Americans moving north to find better paid work.

The destination for many African-Americans moving north was Chicago where, like much of the north, the quality of life was better than that of the south, however the area wasn’t free of racism and it was this racism that resulted in the segregation of migrating African-Americans to an area known as the “Black Belt” (Fig. A) which was an exclusively black neighbourhood in Chicago. The rapid influx of African-Americans moving to Chicago (a.k.a. The Great Migration) and the Black Belt being the only available living space for African-Americans created a neighbourhood of incredible density. In fact, it was so densely populated that landlords took to separating whole houses into single room accommodation containing only the bare essentials to make most efficient use of the rapidly decreasing available space.

The high density of the neighbourhood led to a life lived in public spaces; there was little room inside for families or groups to gather, so much of the social activity took place on the street or in public buildings. This very social life, the confinement of and racism towards African-Americans and the relative economic prosperity led to the formation of a Chicagoan “city within a city” or The Black Metropolis.

It is important to acknowledge that the Black Metropolis was not something that was inherent to the Black Belt; the formation of each was its own separate occurrence. As previously discussed, the Black Belt was the name of a physical neighbourhood; a collection of houses. However the Black Metropolis is something much more complex. It was a city that formed out of the Black Belt, with its own distinct culture, an economy of sorts, an atmosphere completely different to that of the rest of Chicago. The Black Metropolis was what came out of the Black Belt, it formed organically over a long period of time in response to a number of factors. Stated explicitly for this paper, the Black Metropolis is the city that formed out of the Black Belt in Chicago.

One factor which greatly affected the formation of the Black Metropolis was the segregation of the African-Americans living in the Black Belt. This segregation was not only with respect to housing location with some groups of white Americans making conscious efforts to limit the work prospects of African-Americans by lobbying employers in certain neighbourhoods to not hire any African-American applicants. This was done in an attempt to keep African-Americans out of particular neighbourhoods and keep areas “all white.”

A second factor to be considered is a flow on from the first; the employment opportunities of African-Americans. As previously mentioned, there were very limited employment prospects for African-Americans outside the Black Belt however the culture of Black Belt residents was one of hard work. This meant that African-American men performed either undesirable work in dangerous or unsavoury positions or, given the lack of skills training of many, gained employment in unskilled positions. However there was another option for some; engage in more creative pursuits such as music and authorship. This creative movement was a drastic change from the early days of African-American Chicago where there was a distinct line between what was considered leisure and what was considered work.

This creative movement can be credited with the formation of ‘The Stroll’ as a cultural hub rather than just a street. The fact that African-Americans could find work as creatives combined with the close proximity in which they were living meant that there was an extremely socially active population with a great amount of creative output and this was manifest in the lively town centre that formed. The Stroll became the capital of the Black Metropolis and the business that took place here was the life blood of the quasi-city with money made from the strip often being directed back into the community in the form of cultural additions such as nightclubs and music venues but also less exciting but equally important additions such as banks and real estate offices.

The Stroll served an important purpose for the African-Americans of the Black Belt and across the country. It was a cultural Mecca for many across the USA and provided much needed support to those living in close proximity. The formation of this powerful symbol was important for more than just the African-American community which occupied it. The process by which the Black Metropolis came about demonstrates how cities can be formed by more than just legislators and planners and underlines the importance of culture in cities and their formation.