In the topic's first synthetic historical treatment, Kenneth Kusmer looks at the treatment of the homeless in America, tracing the phenomenon from the poorhouse in the nation's early years, to its growth during the Civil War, to the building of a welfare system during the Progressive Era, to the rise of the skid row in cities and hobo camps during the Great Progressive Era, to the rise of the skid row during the Great Depression, to the relatively low level of homelessness during the period after the end of World War II, to the late 1970s, and finally to the visible phenomenon of homelessness at the end of the twentieth century. Kusmer argues that throughout history the homeless have been stereotyped as a deviant group but have always had much in common with the rest of the American population.

Historians have devoted surprisingly little attention to African American urban history ofthe postwar period, especially compared with earlier decades. Correcting this imbalance, "African American Urban History since World War II" features an exciting mix of seasoned scholars and fresh new voices whose combined efforts provide the first comprehensive assessment of this important subject.

The first of this volume's five groundbreaking sections focuses on black migration and Latino immigration, examining tensions and alliances that emerged between African Americans and other groups. Exploring the challenges of residential segregation and deindustrialization, later sections tackle such topics as the real estate industry's discriminatory practices, the movement of middle-class blacks to the suburbs, and the influence of black urban activists on national employment and social welfare policies. Another group of contributors examines these themes through the lens of gender, chronicling deindustrialization's disproportionate impact on women and women's leading roles in movements for social change. Concluding with a set of essays on black culture and consumption, this volume fully realizes its goal of linking local transformations with the national and global processes that affect urban class and race relations.