The establishment of Harlem as the main area of black settlement and as a poor ghetto occurred before the Depression. When the Depression came, the blacks fell still further into poverty. Racism created and perpetuated Harlem's poverty, yet segregation and discrimination also produced strong social and political networks that served not only to meet immediate needs, but to mobilise thousands to demand a better life.

In this extensively researched and well argued book, Cheryl Greenberg examines the growth in the 1930s of a widespread, activist, political culture in Harlem.