Black Metropolis
The Last Half Century

Since the last half of the twentieth century what has happened to the infamous "Black Belt?" Or what St. Clair Drake and Horace Cayton (1945) in their monumental study titled, The Black Metropolis: A Study of Negro Life In a Northern City.

Who left and why? Who stayed and why? What did African Americans accomplish during this period in terms of political, social, cultural, economic and other resources? Who has failed? What were the blocked opportunities? What opportunities exist now? What has remained the same? What has changed? And finally, what lies ahead in the millennium? These questions frame our discourse on understanding the trials and tribulations that have confronted African Americans who once lived in the Black Metropolis and those who "continue" to live there.

This web page is designed for students, teachers, and community members invested in understanding changes in the Black Metropolis since the last-half cenutry.

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Click on the thumbnails below to see the full size photos.

Metropolitan Baptist ChurchNew and OldGriffith Funeral HomeChicago Bee Library
YMCA at 37th and WabashDuSable High SchoolCommunity Art Center
Hayes CenterTerrel Elementary SchoolWashington Park47th and King Drive
Checkerboard Lounge35th Business Corridor

Ezekial saw a wheel -
Wheel in the middle of a wheel -
The big wheel run by faith,
An' the little run by the grace of God -
Ezekial saw a wheel

Negro Spiritual (Quoted from The Black Metropolis)

HomeHoop Institute and Project Team Classroom Resources Links

PowerPoint Presentation on Housing (19 Mb)

PowerPoint Presentation Spring 2004 (12 Mb)

Page last updated July 1, 2003

Please direct questions or comments to: tmanley@depaul.edu