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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 5 page analysis of the book by Jonathan Rieder. Many books have investigated the societal and racial turmoil that began in the 1960s from the standpoint of the African-American community. This book, however, takes a look at the period between 1960 and 1980 from a different perspective--that of a middle-class white community. In so doing, the Rieder doesn't excuse the actions of this neighborhood, but he does help to the reader to understand their motivations. No additional sources cited.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_Canarsie.doc
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
against Liberalism, Jonathan Rieder takes a look at the period between 1960 and 1980 from a different perspective--that of a middle-class white community. Rieder shows that those years were a
time of "danger and dispossession" for this neighborhood of middle-income Jewish and Italians families located in the southeast corner of Brooklyn (1). Rieder doesnt do this in order to justify
the actions of the Canarsians in trying to keep African-American children out of their schools and their neighborhood. He writes, "the complaints of Canarsians about ghetto culture and reverse discrimination
pale before the historic brutalization of black Americans" (9); however, Rieder also points out that, truthfully, few people find any real consolation in such abstract, historic truths (9). Rieder merely
relates as clearly as possible the feelings and emotions of the people of Canarsie as they adapted to a rapidly changing social environment. In so doing, he expresses the hope
that his book will aid in racial understanding for both whites and blacks. Additionally, Rieder also has another purpose in producing this work. The Canarsians were historically liberal in
their political orientation. Like a great deal of white America, the events of this period turned them away from their traditional political roots and the liberalism that they felt had
betrayed them. "The lessons of Canarsie are critical ingredients for a revitalized liberalism that does not wish to be consigned to irrelevance" (Rieder 9). Canarsie is a community of
around 70,000 people. Although some of the residents are current immigrants to the U.S., most are the children and grandchildren of immigrants (Rieder 1). The ghettos of Brownsville and East
New York are just around the corner from this modest middle-class neighborhood of two-family brick row houses. Many of the residents spent their youth in these ghettos and reaching the
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