"This introduction anticipates curiosity about how a young white woman could conduct a study of black family life, and provides a basis for evaluating the reliability and quality of the data obtained." (ix)

"In 1968, a year of record economy in the country, unemployment among Blacks in Jackson Harbor was more than 20 percent." (2)

"In one home roaches exceeded one per square foot on all of the walls inside the house. Children sleeping in this house were covered with sores and scabs from insect bites." (3)

"Despite increasing public assistance for medical needs, many black people put off seeing a doctor as long as possible. Feelings of mistrust run deep." (3)

"Also, as I assisted in the search for new housing when people I knew were evicted or were living in condemned houses, I observed the direct confrontation between residents of The Flats and white landlords and social works. In the two...