{"product_id":"planning-white-supremacy-civil-rights-and-city-planning-in-montgomery-alabama-1920-1970-9780817362348","title":"Planning White Supremacy: Civil Rights and City Planning in Montgomery, Alabama, 1920-1970","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn unflinching account of how city planning was deployed to enforce white supremacy in Montgomery, Alabama--the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement--and how Black activists fought back, block by neighborhood block.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt the heart of the Civil Rights Movement was a city meticulously designed to enforce inequality. In \u003ci\u003ePlanning White Supremacy: Civil Rights and City Planning in Montgomery, Alabama, 1920-1970\u003c\/i\u003e, Rebecca Coleen Retzlaff traces how city officials used the tools of modern planning--zoning, infrastructure, housing codes, public investment, and highway construction--to suppress political power, economic opportunity, and spatial freedom for Black citizens.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement, Montgomery became a battleground where urban planning and direct-action protest collided, shaping the city's culture in ways that still resonate today. Retzlaff's analysis exposes the calculated use of municipal power to control land use, displace Black communities, keep schools and neighborhoods segregated, and preserve white political dominance. By placing urban planning at the center of Montgomery's story, this groundbreaking work reframes the movement not only as a fight for voting rights and legal equality, but as a struggle for space, housing, mobility, education, and the right to live with dignity. Retzlaff also highlights the resilience and joy of the close-knit Black neighborhoods that nurtured the civil rights activists who changed history.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRetzlaff reveals how urban planning decisions systematically targeted Black neighborhoods, reinforcing racial inequality under the guise of modernization. With historical depth and critical insight, \u003ci\u003e Planning White Supremacy\u003c\/i\u003e situates Montgomery within the broader context of American urban history--offering a vital perspective on the intersection of race, space, and power. Essential for scholars of urban planning, history, and racial justice, this book also provides urgent insight into how these legacies continue to shape cities and Black socioeconomic opportunities today.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRebecca Coleen Retzlaff \u003c\/b\u003eis professor of political science and director of the Academic Sustainability Program at Auburn University. She is coeditor of J\u003ci\u003eustice and the Interstates: The Racist Truth about Urban Highways \u003c\/i\u003eand coauthor of \u003ci\u003eOhio Planning and Zoning Law\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eRegional Approaches to Affordable Housing\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"University Alabama Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51890576949522,"sku":"9780817362348","price":39.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_ccbb1124-3ad9-42c2-ac07-76151dc3c320.jpg?v=1768309009","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/planning-white-supremacy-civil-rights-and-city-planning-in-montgomery-alabama-1920-1970-9780817362348","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}