The Store in the Hood

A Century of Ethnic Business and Conflict

By (author) Steven J. Gold

Publication date:

16 October 2010

Length of book:

328 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781442206236

The Store in the Hood is a comprehensive study of conflicts between immigrant merchants and customers throughout the U.S. during the 20th century. From the lynchings of Sicilian immigrant merchants in the late 1800s, to the riots in L.A. following the acquittal of the police officers who beat Rodney King, to present-day Detroit, recurrent conflicts between immigrant business owners and their customers have disrupted the stability of American life. Devastating human lives, property and public order, these conflicts have been the subject of periodic investigations that are generally limited in scope and emphasize the outlooks and cultural practices of the involved groups as the root of most disputes.

This book develops a more nuanced understanding by exploring merchant/customer conflicts over the past hundred years across a wide range of ethnic groups and settings. Utilizing published research, official statistics, interviews, and ethnographic data collected from diverse locations, the book reveals how powerful groups and institutions have shaped the environments in which merchant/customer conflicts occur. These conflicts must be seen as products of the larger society's values, policies and structures, not solely as a consequence of actions by immigrants, the urban poor, and other marginal groups.

Preface
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Black Entrepreneurship from 1900 until 1935
Chapter 3: Immigrant Entrepreneurs' Relations with Customers in the Early 20th Century
Chapter 4: The Fate of Minority Merchants during Depression and War
Chapter 5: Government Policy, Ghettos, and Merchant-Customer Conflict after World War II
Chapter 6: Demographic Change and Urban Transformation: Interactions between Immigrant Business Owners and Customers, 1970 to 2005
Chapter 7: The Informal Economy as a site of Competition between Disadvantaged Populations and Ethnic Merchants
Chapter 8: Ethnic Merchants in a Black Majority City: The Case of Detroit (with Joe Darden)
Chapter 9:Social Inequality and Merchant-Customer Conflicts
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the Author

The story of ethnics and enterprise captures both the American dream and the American nightmare, since the same people who seem to be pulling themselves up by their bootstraps, seem to also find themselves in conflict with their neighbors and customers. In The Store in the Hood, Steven Gold revisits this American perennial, taking the long view to tell a surprising story about the conflicts both engendered and avoided by the past century’s waves of ethnic entrepreneurs. This deeply researched, well-written book will appeal to students and scholars alike.