Kimberley Johnson (New York University)

This paper explores the formation of black urban citizenship or “black urbanism” as a key part of the development of the 20th century American urban order. Rather than seeing black urbanism as reactive to American urban development, I argue that it both shapes and is shaped by urban political development. Such a reconceptualization shifts black urban politics from its “urban crisis” origins across time and space, affecting national, state and local political development.

Kimberley Johnson is a scholar of American politics and history. Her work explores the intersection between state and society with a focus on race and ethnicity, as well as urban and metropolitan political development. Johnson currently serves as Professor of Social & Cultural Analysis at New York University.