White flight was the term coined for the exodus of white families from the urban core to the newly built suburbs starting in the 1950s and 1960s. It's a complicated issue and there were a lot of contributing factors both social and economic. The reasons whites moved away from city centers (such as minorities moving to cities to fill working-class jobs in the booming post-war economy, and the desire to own a home) are perhaps not as important as their ability to do so. The newly constructed suburban paradise was created for middle and working-class white families facilitated by federally guaranteed mortgages under the Federal Housing Administration which recommended the "prohibition of the occupancy of properties except by the race for which they are intended." It wasn't until 1968 that federally sanctioned discrimination in mortgage lending was made illegal.
To echo the words of a radio deejay in the ESPN film, The U, the federal government was saying "If you're black, you're not really first class."
My grandparents bought houses during this period, and I can't help but wonder how different things might have been for them, for my parents, and for my generation if they were denied a mortgage and the opportunity to build long-term wealth.
Most of this is fairly common knowledge. I didn't have to go buy an obscure book or dig very deep to learn of this. The history of any city in America or of the post-war era, discussing anything from road construction to the desegregation of schools will at least touch on the topic.
If you'd like to read a short piece entitled The Dark Side of Suburbia, check out this link to Khan Academy.
yep one hundred percent, the GI Bill not being helpful or accessible to Black veterans was a disgrace and such a pinpointed time when there could have been a big change for the better and instead continued on this path of discrimination. I have WWII Veteran grandparents that benefited and so much changed in their lives from that access... I imagine many white americans can attribute some family success back to that very moment. And if we can that means that there are many Black families who can also trace that moment as a disappointment + hardship and were denied access to something that gave others, who served our country in the exact same way, a leg up.
ReplyDeleteAs always, spot on Tessa. I was doing some reading on the GI Bill and will likely write another post. I think a lot of people think these things were offered to "everyone," and I'm sure those who were able to get an education, a better job, etc thought that they were only getting what everyone got, what they deserved.
Delete