Five stars if you are in the Urban Planning field and have an interest in this project - and four stars for the rest of us. I wish this was a topic we would have discussed it grad school - there’s so much to unpack here. This was an impressive attempt to make McKissock’s dream come to life. Ambitious, dramatic, frustrating - and ultimately a heartbreaking failure. I’ve recommend this book to several of my coworkers (also Planners)!

What an incredible book that shines light on the problems of our society by looking at a microcosm of society. you can see the promise and the demise. I always like to tell my high school students that there is a significant difference between theory and practice. Perfectly good theories are ruined by people. Very well written and engaging.

Seton Hall law professor Thomas Healy released ☛SOUL CITY: RACE, EQUALITY, AND THE LOST DREAM OF AN AMERICAN UTOPIA [pub: Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt and Company] at the beginning of Black History Month and quite frankly, it’s not only a must-read for any and every month of the year, but a must-own for bookshelves and a must-teach for classrooms. In 1969, a lawyer named Floyd McKissick launched his idea of Soul City—a new city where Black people would have a majority share of power, capital, and opportunity. The plan would, in theory, slow the northern migration of so many Black folks and “bring money and jobs to a region that had been left behind by the twin forces or industrialization and urbanization… When the economies of rural areas collapsed, their residents poured into the cities in search of opportunity, which only exacerbated the overcrowding and destitution of the slums. Therefore, McKissick believed, it was vital to address rural poverty, too.”

The prologue opens in 1972 with McKissick, once the head of CORE [the Congress Of Racial Equality], leading a New York Times reporter across “green fields and red clay roads” of an old Warren County, North Carolina plantation—a place where 40 percent of its residents lacked indoor toilets, seven out of ten adults never graduated from high school, and where “one roadside billboard boldly proclaimed ‘Klan Country.’” Weeks before the Times visit, “the Nixon administration had awarded Soul City a $14 million loan guarantee, (the equivalent of about $87 million today) to prepare the land for development… If entire towns could be reconstructed in post-war Europe, [McKissick] thought to himself, why couldn’t Black people build new cities in the United States?”

I’ve been preaching this books’ gospel since I swiped it open on my tablet. For my academics, intellectuals and history enthusiast, Healy’s notes, bibliography and acknowledgements alone are worth a dedicated read. I can’t help but admire his level of devoted and “meticulous” research. That said, Healy crafted an incredible documentation of a quest for Black economic empowerment, “advancement and a haven from racial oppression” with references to not only Tulsa/Black Wall Street and Liberia, but lesser-known Black towns and settlements like Brooklyn, Illinois, Port Royal, South Carolina, and the Maroons of North Carolina. Kudos to Healy. This encyclopedia of hidden Black facts, history and data read more like a Black power blockbuster than a sleepy work of non-fiction.

Intriguing, well-written, and meticulously researched. Anyone with an interest in how the government has traversed the arena of funding the rise of communities will enjoy this historical look at often overlooked programs and the challenges faced by many nonprofit groups during the 1960s at the height of the civil rights movement. Not to mention learning about the dreams of a single man and how he tried to fulfill the dream.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book to read. The impressions expressed here are my own honest opinions written voluntarily.

Soul City: Race, Equality, and the Lost Dream of an American Utopia by Thomas Healy is the story of one man's dream to build a majority Black city in rural NC and how that dream failed. Floyd McKissick was a civil rights leader who was also the founder and developer of Soul City, NC. His goal in building the city was to help build up the economic fortunes of African Americans in the region of the state. McKissick was a leader in CORE (Congress of Racial Equality), he marched alongside Dr. King, and later became associated with the Black Power movement. Soul City was a continuation of McKissick's vision of Black Power, especially Black economic autonomy.

This book chronicles the constant battles that McKissick faced in order to create Soul City. I liked this book because Healy makes a story about the politics of city planning and developing interesting to read. The book contains a cast of characters that native North Carolinians will be familiar with: Harvey Gantt, Eva Clayton, and Jesse Helms to name a few. Soul City faced many challenges: critics who complained that it was a separatist city, government bureaucracy, the city's name, an obstructionist senator in Jesse Helms, a probing News and Observer reporter, and reluctant prospective business opportunities. Ultimately when it comes down to it I asked myself this question: Did Soul City ever stand a chance of succeeding? It seems not. Whether it was a mixture of it being Black developed, the city's name, or a mix of both; Soul City deserved more and should have been given more chances to grow and succeed. Healy tells an important story that should inform future developers who dream to build majority Black cities as McKissick attempted to do.

A really fascinating look at the time in history when the concept to build a town based on equality,I had never heard about this idea before and found the story the people involved really interesting.Highly recommend. History buffs will be amazed,#netgalley#henryholt

An excellent, detailed account of a little known, overlooked chapter in civil rights history. "Soul City" NC was doomed from the start, and the present conditions are sorry. Healy explains the how, and the why. One could perhaps say he is a bit too sympathetic and perhaps unwilling to explore some interesting contradictions. Our champion of civil rights switching allegiance to right wing Republicans is a perhaps "betrayal" which could be explored more deeply. And the terrible sadness which a present day visit provokes is evocatively protrayed. I've ridden those streets and feel the same way! Well done.

Very thorough and well thought out book about race and the idea for an almost utopian city in the rural south primarily for Black people. Great insight to a little know part of history.