Saturday Reads-Buffalo

I picked up this book from my library system for two reasons: first, it focuses on Buffalo political history, and second, it provided a history for the current state of things in Buffalo.

The book Power Struggle: Politics, Patronage, And the Economic Future of Buffalo, New York (Prometheus Books, 2006) is written by a Buffalo native, Diana Dillaway. She interviewed Buffalo's political and cultural leaders to gather insights about the time covered: 1950-2005.

One thing I have enjoyed about the book is Dillaway's ability to explain the different parts of the situation. While many of us focus on one item (manufacturing leaving town), we ignore or do not realize the other struggles happening at the same time.

Every city struggles with the tensions between the different ethnic groups, and Buffalo is no different. During the time period covered, there were three primary groups at play. The first group was the WASPs (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) that were in the upper echelons of the economic system. The WASP group ruled the banks, papers, and many of the large businesses. The second group was divided into three parts: Italian, Polish and Irish factions. This was the immigrant/middle class section. Some aspired to enter the WASPs (some became rich enough), but were never fully accepted for one reason: Catholicism. The third group was the African-American community. Buffalo has always had a large population of free blacks because of its proximity to Canada. Indeed, to this day, houses around Western New York are rumored to be stations on the Underground Railroad.

The combination of economic and political troubles led to the situation in Buffalo. The premise of the book is when leaders fail to lead, which, Dillaway suggests is part of the reason that Buffalo went through the economic crisis it faced beginning in the Seventies, and is only recently recovering from.

If you're looking for a book to give you a good overview of the modern economic/political history of Buffalo, this is a good starting point.

One interesting side-note about the publisher, Prometheus Books, it is located in Amherst, NY.