19世纪纽约黑人聚居区

Alliances with whites were often forged. And like white New Yorkers, many in "Black Gotham" also wanted to be rich - but success could be fleeting.

当时的黑人也常常跟白人结盟。和纽约白人一样，很多黑人聚居区里的人也追求发财致富。彼德森指出，他们追求财富和社会地位平等，得到的结果捉摸不定。

"You see black New Yorkers make tremendous gains and then lose. Gains in terms of entrepreneurship, finding a trade, finding a profession, setting down roots, buying property, and feeling they were at last becoming a genuine part of city life. They would refer to ‘color-phobia’ as ‘fast disappearing in our city.’ But then there would be a loss."

她说：“你们看到纽约的黑人获得了很大的成果，然后又损失掉他们的所获。在创业、找到谋生行当、找到职业、落地生根、买房置地，感觉到他们终于真正地融入纽约生活方面，他们是取得了收获。他们认为仇视黑人的态度在纽约迅速消失。但后来又出现了倒退。”

Racial violence was also an issue. Peterson cites a riot in 1834, which began in a chapel where both black and white choirs were scheduled to rehearse at the same time.

"And the white choir went nuts. It was only a pretext, but a race riot broke out, and a lot of black property was damaged. Saint Philip’s Episcopal Church, which was the church of my family, was desecrated."

The Draft Riots of July 1863, during the height of the Civil War, were an especially low point in the history of black New York. When President Abraham Lincoln instituted a military draft, many immigrants, especially the Irish, thought they were being asked to fight and perhaps to die in a war being waged for the benefit of blacks. Angry mobs set out to destroy the dwellings and businesses of the city’s prosperous African-Americans.

1863年，在美国内战最激烈的时候发生的征兵骚乱是纽约黑人历史上的低潮。林肯总统下令征兵。而很多移民，尤其是爱尔兰移民，认为自己是被要求在一场为黑人、而不是为他们自己谋福利的战争中送死。一些暴民于是开始捣毁纽约市一些富裕黑人的住宅和商店。

But there was also some goodwill between the races. Peterson's great grandfather owned a pharmacy in a largely Irish neighborhood. He was known as a kind man who gave free medicine and clothes to the poor.

但彼德森教授说，纽约的黑人和白人之间也有善意。她的曾祖父在一个以爱尔兰人为主的地区开了一家药店，免费送给穷人药品和衣物，被公认为是一个好人。

"So they came to see him as a pillar of the community. So at the time of the Draft Riots he was warned to leave. A group of white merchants in the area came to him and said ‘You’d better get out. Your pharmacy is going to be attacked.’ And he said, ‘As many men who are going to come and attack me, there will be as many who come to defend me.’ And that is exactly what happened. His Irish neighbors protected his pharmacy."

彼德森说：“人们就把他看作是社区的中坚。因此，在征兵骚乱发生的时候，有人给他通风报信，让他离开。一些白人商人跟他说，你赶紧走吧，有人要来攻击你的药店。他说，有多少人攻击我，就会有多少人来保护我。结果真的是这样。他的爱尔兰邻居把他的药店保护了下来。”

Then as now, New York was an ethnic melting pot, and Peterson says many black New Yorkers saw themselves as citizens of the world. Her own ancestors had roots in England, Haiti, Jamaica, Venezuela, American Indian territory as well as Africa.

当时的纽约市跟现在一样是一个民族大熔炉。彼德森说，很多纽约黑人自认为是世界公民。她自己的祖先就来自英国、海地、牙买加、委内瑞拉、美洲印第安人部落区，以及非洲。

She points out that more than a century later, many American blacks still lack the educational and economic opportunities that the mainstream enjoys. But Peterson adds that she has been gratified to learn that many black groups are inspired by the struggles and incremental successes of 19th-Century "Black Gotham."

彼德森指出，一个多世纪过去了，很多美国黑人依然没有得到主流社会所得到的教育和经济机会。但是，彼德森表示，她很高兴地获悉，很多黑人团体受到了《纽约黑人聚居区》的奋斗和渐进式成功的鼓舞。