The Limits of Black Activism

When the Philadelphia Tribune, the National Negro Congress, and other African American organizations launched a campaign for better housing in the mid-1930s, they displayed the hope many black Philadelphians had that public housing could improve their lives. That campaign, which succeeded in obtaining federal support for housing in Philadelphia, led to the construction of several projects, including the James Weldon Johnson and Richard Allen Homes. Many of the city’s African Americans regarded the new projects with great optimism. Over time, however, they learned that government officials, pressured by white Philadelphians, would not place “black” public housing in white neighborhoods, which meant the projects actually deepened segregation. Ironically, African Americans campaigned for, and won, housing projects that improved their lives in the short term but at the same time deepened their long-term problems. Paying attention to grassroots black politics, this article suggests, helps us understand how African Americans shaped their lives, but also argues that we must pay attention to the limits of their activism.