Salt

On the plane to and from Albuquerque, I read SALT CITY AND ITS BLACK COMMUNITY by David and Miriam Stamps (2008). It was very interesting for me on many levels, especially because it paints a history of Syracuse that was never delivered for me in school: white or black America.

The immigrant story founded Central New York and it is interesting that two black men were first seen mining salt for Native Americans in the city - they were run away slaves from the south. This salt city connection has its roots in American race relations, as Syracuse was also a big factor in the underground railroad before the Civil War. The reputations for kindness was spread in the South, so several freed slaves moved north. This was, of course, at the time of Irish, German, Polish, Jewish and Italian immigrants. During WWI, the departed white immigrants in the war left a lot of industrial jobs for black Americans in Syracuse. After WWII, though, when soldiers returned from war, they were given the jobs and benefited from the housing boom available suburbia. This housing boom was not granted to black Americans, however, a result of governmental policy.

An interesting discovery is that, numerically, African American children had better attendance in city schools than white Americans, yet as adolescence crept on, the drop out rate rose. This is speculated to be the result that the opportunities for black workers in Syracuse of yesteryear were not available so their education was seen as not worth it (that was then). Still, the drop out rate is severe. The first black teacher wasn't hired by the city until the 1960s and since then, keeping educated black teachers in the district has been hard. Stamps and Stamps (2007) write that they are easily recruited but not easily maintained. They say the divide between middle class black families who moved away from poor black families remains.

I live by Hancock airport, where my father worked, and it was interesting to also read about his work with Dr. Tolley at Syracuse University, when the good ol' boy network was in full swing.

Over all, Syracuse's history is complex and will continue to be this way for a long time. Reading SALT CITY filled historical gaps about much of Central New York in my pea-brain mind. It also made me proud. The Dunbar Center, where we had the writing conference last month, is documented as a historical monument in the city and has always been central to civil rights in Syracuse.