The Anderson Institute will begin its program for Black History Month with the fourth talk in this academic year’s “Plain Talk on Race and Ethnicity” series. All welcome.

Founded in 1906, West Rock provided affordable housing and accessibility to an array of domestic, service, and labor jobs for its African American residents. Nestled in what is now Riverdale downhill from Pulaski Heights, one of the city’s most exclusive communities, and a short distance from the Rock Island train station, lumberyards, a country club, warehouses, and Field Farm, West Rock’s community lived symbiotically with their wealthy and industrial neighbors. Proximity made West Rock ideal for its wealthy neighbors uphill. Domestic workers and chauffeurs were a short walk from their places of employment. However, by the 1950s the Civil Rights movement caused the Height’s residents to view the community more as a burden. This talk examines the lifespan of the community from its development to its removal as a result of Slum Clearance. The story of West Rock embodies the narrative of race and urban development in America and the role that planning and local government played in maintaining segregated communities.