Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Part One: 1900-1917 -- 1. Birmingham, Alabama: The Historical Background -- 2. Politics and Decision Making -- 3. Welfare Services -- Part Two: 1928-1941 -- 4. Politics and Government in Birmingham -- 5. The Depression in Birmingham -- 6. Relief in Birmingham: From the Community Chest to the Department of Public Welfare -- Part Three: 1954 -- 7. The Missed Opportunity in Race Relations -- Part Four: 1962-1975 -- 8. Political and Social Modernization
9. The Jefferson County Committee for Economic Opportunity and the Birmingham Citizen Participation Program -- Epilogue -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index
Summary
This well-written volume explores the relationships between politics and welfare programs for low-income residents in Birmingham during four periods in the twentieth century: 1900-1917, the formative period of city building when welfare was predominantly a responsibility of the private sector; 1928-1941, when the Great Depression devastated the local economy and federal intervention became the principal means of meeting human need; the mid 1950s, when the lasting impacts of the New Deal could be assessed and when matters of race relations became increasingly s
