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This is a podcast series about suburbanization in the US after World War II. It focuses on the causes, effects, and impacts of suburbanization, particularly on African-Americans. Segregated suburbs were created where white families lived, while African-Americans were forced into lower-income communities known as vertical ghettos. Urban renewal efforts destroyed homes and left many minority families homeless. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 allowed non-white families to move into predominantly white suburbs, causing tension and racism. Banks made it difficult for African-Americans to finance homes in white neighborhoods, leading to the decline of once thriving suburbs. Segregation and geographical factors like redlining and blockbusting contributed to this issue. Hi, my name is Sierra Collins and welcome to my Un-Essay U.S. History Podcast. This is a three-part podcast series all about suburbanization of the United States after World War II. My aim with this podcast is to highlight the causes, effects, and impacts suburbanization had on the U.S. and its overarching presence in today's culture. Most importantly, I'll be discussing the huge impacts suburbanization had on the African-American population and the effects that linger on into today's culture. The episodes will be split into three different time periods, starting with 1945, the year World War II ended. Welcome to Episode 2, 1952 to 1968, Segregation that Goes Beyond Black and White. Being white meant living in the suburbs. Segregation amongst the rest of Americans living the so-called American Dream, which now included owning a home. All the citizens living in these segregated suburbs are all the same ethnicity, and the only thing that really made them different from other families within the community was the religious beliefs they abided to. The families were of the same economic level and of the same race. It almost seemed like a utopia for white people. They had somewhere they could live with people that looked just like them and made somewhere around the same amount of money as them as well. There were consequences to segregated suburbs and to the communities they made up minorities. Where did African-Americans and minorities live if they weren't allowed to take out mortgages in suburbs like Levittown? Housing developments called vertical ghettos were built for African-Americans to live in. This concentrated lower-income black communities into one area. Urban renewal focused on housing reform and sanitary and public health measures in these communities, but ultimately ended up in demolished homes that were never rebuilt. The destruction of homes led to many minority families homeless. In 1968, President Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act. This act prohibited discrimination concerning the sale, retail, and financing of housing based on religion, national origin, or sex. This allowed for non-white families to move into predominantly white suburbs. This came as a culture shock for both white and black families. Blockbusting became a new term common for suburban communities. Blockbusting introduced African-American homeowners into previously all-white neighborhoods to spark housing price decline. Homes were sold to African-American and Latino families at inflated prices, and as more minority families moved in, white families moved out. This created more racism and segregation in these communities. The housing value of homes didn't go down because of African-American and Latino families moving in. They went down because of white families moving out. And this became a vicious cycle amongst suburban communities, and of the banks in America. Banks contributed to the inflation of homes as well. They made it difficult for African-Americans to finance loans for homes in predominantly white neighborhoods. And because African-Americans couldn't afford the homes and white Americans were moving out, suburbs that were once thriving became slums. It's important to remember that segregation plays a key role in the establishment and demolishment of early American suburbs. Why were Jim Crow laws still in place and jobs and housing markets segregated after 50 years of civil rights being in place? Geographical segregation is to blame for which stem from redlining and blockbusting. We'll talk about it more in Episode 3. Thanks for listening. This podcast cannot be produced without the help of these online resources, Britannica, NPR, and The House We Live In.
