ABSTRACT
Robert E. Park's analysis of the migration of southern, rural blacks to cities, especially northern cities, although not analogous to his work on immigrant communities, was certainly influenced by it. He saw a similarity between immigrant cultures founded upon 'old world traits transplanted' and an emergent Afro-American urban, culture having its roots in slavery and racism in the United States. This chapter focuses on the relationship between blacks and whites before and after the emancipation of slaves at the conclusion of the Civil War in April 1865. It considers race relations in northern cities during the post-bellum period. The chapter also considers Park's view that the spatial segregation of Afro-Americans in cities was favourable to the growth of separate social institutions and the emergence of an urban black culture – both of which contributed to race consciousness and race solidarity.
