The South Side: A Portrait of Chicago and American Segregation

by Natalie Y. Moore Narrated by Allyson Johnson

Overview

Mayors Richard M. Daley and Rahm Emanuel have touted and promoted Chicago as a "world-class city." The skyscrapers kissing the clouds, the billion-dollar Millennium Park, Michelin-rated restaurants, pristine lake views, fabulous shopping, vibrant theater scene, downtown flower beds, and stellar architecture tell one story. Yet, swept under the rug is the stench of segregation that compromises Chicago. The Manhattan Institute dubs Chicago as one of the most segregated big cities in the country. Though other cities-including Cleveland, Los Angeles, and Baltimore-can fight over that mantle, it's clear that segregation defines Chicago. And unlike many other major U.S. cities, no one race dominates. Chicago is divided equally into black, white, and Latino, each group clustered in their various turfs.


In this intelligent and highly important narrative, Chicago-native Natalie Moore shines a light on contemporary segregation on the South Side of Chicago through reported essays, showing the life of these communities through the stories of people who live in them. The South Side shows the important impact of Chicago's historic segregation and the ongoing policies that keep it that way.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"An excellent work for all readers interested in knowing more about important, ongoing urban issues." —Library Journal

“Thoughtful and clarifying investigation … Moore refines our perception of the realities of segregation and the many possible paths to change.”—Booklist

"Natalie Moore's The South Side is an exquisite exploration of a portion of Chicago that has long embodied the problems and promise of black America. Moore brings her considerable gifts as a journalist and historian to bear along with her knowledge as a South Side native. Moore's latest is essential to anyone attempting to understand race in Chicago, our most American of cities." —Ta-Nehisi Coates, author of Between the World and Me

"Moore has captured the rhythm of Chicago, its beauty and heartbreak, and its racial demons and activist angels with such vibrant prose and personality that she has achieved that rare literary feat: it is both a page-turner and magnum opus. By traveling to the South Side with her, we not only understand why it has been able to produce some of our nation’s most exceptional African American leaders, but also how its ongoing racial segregation haunts and harms the vast majority of Chicagoans today.” —Salamishah Tillet, Associate Professor of English and Africana Studies, University of Pennsylvania

"In a highly readable, conversational style, Moore demonstrates refreshing candor about how racial inequality infuses every aspect of daily life." —Kirkus Reviews

**One of Buzzfeed's 18 Best Nonfiction Books Of 2016**

"Moore, a longtime reporter for WBEZ in Chicago and a native of the Chatham neighborhood on the South Side, digs into the ways that segregation continues to shape the politics of her hometown, as well as her own life." —The Chicago Crusader

"Moore...weaves her life story through a well-researched account of the policies that have shaped Chicago into a city often described as separate and unequal." —The Chicago Sun-Times

"A reminder that even though great gains have been made in the development of integrated neighborhoods and suburbs, Chicago is still shackled by the chains of segregation, chains that limit the potential of hundreds of thousands of African-Americans and impoverish the lives of all residents of the region...a clarion call for us to break the chains that bind us and allow our imaginations to be free to take on — and change — the systemic reality of segregation and its impact on all of us." —The Chicago Tribune

"What's important about Natalie Y. Moore's new book is less that it's about Chicago's south side, and more that it's of the south side, deeply and lovingly, in a way journalism about the area rarely is...a powerful political document." —The Chicago Reader

“The South Side is a comprehensive iconoclastic investigation of segregated black Chicago, past and present … an essential book for anyone interested in the history and current state of race in the urban U.S.” —ShelfAwareness

“Some serious food for thought for dwellers of all US cities.” —The New York Post

“Recommended reading for anyone who wants to more fully understand the roots of current Chicago issues … Moore's personal reflections are honest and fascinating, making ‘The South Side’ shine.” —Associated Press

"Moore strikes an admirable balance between palpable love for Chicago's diversities and clear-eyed anger at the powerful forces dividing America's third-largest city into different worlds." —Pacific Standard

"As questions and criticism about race in America rightfully continue to dominate the national conversation, this book brings the problem right to home. Moore, the South Side bureau reporter for WBEZ, explores how institutionalized segregation continues to keep predominantly black neighborhoods at an economic and educational disadvantage." —RedEye

"An excellent work for all readers interested in knowing more about important, ongoing urban issues." —Library Journal

“Thoughtful and clarifying investigation … Moore refines our perception of the realities of segregation and the many possible paths to change.”—Booklist

"Natalie Moore's The South Side is an exquisite exploration of a portion of Chicago that has long embodied the problems and promise of black America. Moore brings her considerable gifts as a journalist and historian to bear along with her knowledge as a South Side native. Moore's latest is essential to anyone attempting to understand race in Chicago, our most American of cities." —Ta-Nehisi Coates, author of Between the World and Me

"Moore has captured the rhythm of Chicago, its beauty and heartbreak, and its racial demons and activist angels with such vibrant prose and personality that she has achieved that rare literary feat: it is both a page-turner and magnum opus. By traveling to the South Side with her, we not only understand why it has been able to produce some of our nation’s most exceptional African American leaders, but also how its ongoing racial segregation haunts and harms the vast majority of Chicagoans today.” —Salamishah Tillet, Associate Professor of English and Africana Studies, University of Pennsylvania

"In a highly readable, conversational style, Moore demonstrates refreshing candor about how racial inequality infuses every aspect of daily life." —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher - AUDIO COMMENTARY

"Johnson's low, clear voice and reportorial tone perfectly match the book's bleak but hopeful outlook, helping to make the book accessible for every listener." —AudioFile

Library Journal

03/01/2016
Moore, WBEZ's South Side reporter, documents the various ways in which the racial segregation of Chicago's neighborhoods has come to define this Midwestern city. Moore, a South Side resident herself, narrates an excellent history of residential as well as educational segregation within Chicago, despite the legal remedies that the courts have offered. The author believes that institutional racism, more than the class of the city's residents, has made it difficult for African Americans to advance in life, as other groups have done historically. Interviews with local business owners and teachers add much to strengthen Moore's arguments of tracing the efforts of residents to battle institutionalized racism. Moore incorporates stories of growing up in a middle-class household into the essays, which at times intrudes too much into the narrative and gives the book a false note, but this is a minor point. More important is that Moore focuses much of her discussions on productive solutions to problems, including the "food deserts" that affect cities such as Chicago, ways in which schools can be healthy institutions, and how neighborhoods can work together to improve lives. VERDICT An excellent work for all readers interested in knowing more about important, ongoing urban issues.—Amy Lewontin, Northeastern Univ. Lib., Boston

AUGUST 2016 - AudioFile

As far as racial politics go, the past few years haven’t been good for Chicago, and this audiobook explains why. Allyson Johnson narrates with the pathos, authority, and seriousness the book deserves. In a series of reports, the author, a city resident, analyzes why a neighborhood that is vibrant and multicultural is rife with crime and violence. There are no real surprises; poverty, racism, guns, questionable police shootings, and a dysfunctional political culture are all familiar problems. Johnson’s low, clear voice and reportorial tone perfectly match the book’s bleak but hopeful outlook, helping to make the book accessible for every listener. She also emphasizes Moore’s point that these are people who deserve much better than what they are getting. R.I.G. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170813032
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	06/15/2016
Edition description:	Unabridged

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