Williams shows Edmonds persuading other black leaders that they should work with Mayor Lee. Edmonds came to New Haven from the civil rights movement in the South. And Edmonds was right. Listen to the complaints of the people threatening to burn down your city. Progress can come only from independent, black-controlled organization.
Whites can help.
They have no business leading or controlling. The price is too high. Ultimately, by serving as anointed powerbroker for white machine mayors, Edmonds built a vast patronage empire in the city school system. He brought many black New Haveners into the middle class. But black New Haven still generally has weak public schools, partly because of the legacy of patronage.