Jacksonville has Florida's largest African American community. It is a city with a long and prosperous history characterized by tense but generally amicable race relations. This dissertation explores the political, social and economic problems facing Jacksonville's Black community during the crucial World War II thru 1970s period. Heavy emphasis is placed on the Black community's political activities. It is divided into ten chapters each covering an important period, event, or character in African American community. / It provides a link between the 1920s and 1980s period which have already been studied. It investigates the challenges faced by Blacks leaders in their struggle to elect a candidate to office. It uncovers some of the people left out of most Black histories of the city. The most important contribution this work makes is that it introduces you to a world which was generally ignored by the White community. It attempts to introduce Blacks as a human beings who were struggling against almost insurmountable odds, for simple things, such as equal treatment and a chance at a decent education. / Because Jacksonville's Black community was so large it could band together and protect itself from some of the worse abuses which Blacks in other communities endured. Because the community had a prosperous African American middle class it was able to supply the people with the economic base necessary for social survival and could band together and protect itself from some of the worse abuses which Blacks in other communities endured. Because the community had a prosperous African American middle class it was able to supply the people with the economic base necessary for social survival and economic prosperity. This work also looks at the impact the civil rights movement had on Jacksonville's African American community. It answers the question, "what part did Jacksonville's Blacks community play and who were some of the leaders?" / The two most controversial sections deal with the 1967 election and the elections of Mary Singleton and Sally Mathis to the city council and also the struggle over consolidation and its impact on Jacksonville's African American community. After 1967, Jacksonville's African American community found itself on the verge of political domination. Consolidation proved to be a very controversial subject because if consolidation passed, Blacks would be reduced from 43% of the city's population to just over 27%. However, the city would be armed with the financial resources necessary to handle future crisis. / The work concludes with a look at Earl Johnson and Frank Hampton arguably the two most important political figures in recent Jacksonville history. It explores their contributions to building Jacksonville and the part they played in ensuring Black political participation. The last section provides an overview and also a comparative look at the Black communities in Jacksonville and other major Florida cities. It compares infant mortality rates, death rates, poverty rates, and other important figures to see how Jacksonville's, Black community compares. The results are startling. Statistically, Jacksonville had the most healthiest, and prosperous Black community in Florida. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-09, Section: A, page: 2952. / Major Professor: Neil Betten. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77233 |
| Contributors | Bartley, Abel Alphonso., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 351 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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