Racism and Suburbs


  • By the end of World War II, housing presure in inner cities and African American neighborhoods was enormous.
  • 80% of the black population was squeezed into about 5 square miles, units were said to be "unbelievably crowded".
  • Between 1947 and 1967, more towns were established on whites-only basis than ever before.
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    Anti- African American Sign (Click Picture for Source)
  • Levitt & Son were the largest home builder in America after World War II, for two decades after the war "The Levitt Organization" refused to sell to the blacks.
  • 1,500 houses out of 186,000 houses that were built in Detroit in the 1940's were available to the blacks.
  • The FHA was the most important single cause of residential segregation.
  • The FHA kept the blacks and other minorites from buying houses in white neighborhoods.
  • African Americans were not only shut out of the suburbs, but also from participating in Americans route to wealth increase and federal help towards home ownership.
  • The federal government passed the Civil rights act of 1968, also known as the "Fair Housing Act", which prohibits racial discrimination in sale, rental, and financing of housing.