Ghettos
The post World War II era ushered in a new set of problems
regarding race relations in housing.
Blacks experienced isolation and were confined to ghettos in a racially
secluded area known as the Black Belt. [1] These Chicago ghettos were inhabitable
because sanitary conditions were bad and were overcrowded with people [2]. Blacks did not have private bathrooms in
their homes and were left to use public showers in areas where sanitary
conditions were below acceptable health standards. [3]. This was
because whites and Caucasians wanted to keep blacks out of their housing units
or neighborhoods through violence as in the Cicero uprising of 1951 where 2000
to 5000 angry whites attacked a building that housed a single black family [4]. Those whites and Caucasians who left for the
suburbs avoided the riots; however those who remained often became part of
these riots as a reaction to the fleeing whites and the growing black
population [5]. Racial
relations continued to face tensions near the ghettos with the growth of the
suburbs.
http://www.gordonparksfoundation.org/archives/536
1953, Chicago, African Americans playing in a Chicago ghetto.
1953, Chicago, African Americans playing in a Chicago ghetto.
Housing Restrictions
Blacks were restricted in housing. For instance, the Lakewood community was known as the “white spot” of Long Beach, an area that restricted non-whites in order to maintain its “family friendly” composure [6]. The court case Shelley v. Kraemer in 1948, eliminated on constitutional grounds the restrictive covenants that formed these neighborhood and made it easier for blacks to obtain housing [7]. As the black belt became more congested, the speculation that blacks would eventually spill out into these white communities sparked violence [8]. Arson and riots were common problems that took place in the areas bordering the black belt. [9, 10, 11]
Riots
Many discriminatory riots took place in reaction to the expanding black population entering white homes. Between 1947 and 1948, the number of black residents who entered the Park Manor community increased [12]. As a result, whites commonly used hit-and-run tactics in an effort to scare the new residents off [13]. These acts of violence in Park Manor increased in scope. On July 25, 1949, a Park Manor Mob of 2000 destroyed a flat owned by Roscoe Johnson [14]. Among other acts of violence, the Fernwood Riot devastated the community that surrounded it. In 1947, 1,500 to 5,000 people gathered around a CHA (Chicago Housing Authority) project in an attempt to reduce the number of black veterans housed there [15]. Although police broke their efforts to stop the project, blacks were beaten and about 100 cars were overturned [16]. Nearly 700 police officers were dispatched to scope an area of 8 square miles in Fernwood which towered in comparison to the 1 square mile where the 1919 riots took place [17]. The increasing scope of violence in both these communities indicated ever-increasing tensions in racial relations.
Although blacks gained freedom under constitutional right, “de facto” segregation took place. A growing ambition to keep blacks out of white neighborhoods left most blacks confined to the ghettos in which they lived in. This halted the black race’s progress into racial assimilation.
Blacks were restricted in housing. For instance, the Lakewood community was known as the “white spot” of Long Beach, an area that restricted non-whites in order to maintain its “family friendly” composure [6]. The court case Shelley v. Kraemer in 1948, eliminated on constitutional grounds the restrictive covenants that formed these neighborhood and made it easier for blacks to obtain housing [7]. As the black belt became more congested, the speculation that blacks would eventually spill out into these white communities sparked violence [8]. Arson and riots were common problems that took place in the areas bordering the black belt. [9, 10, 11]
Riots
Many discriminatory riots took place in reaction to the expanding black population entering white homes. Between 1947 and 1948, the number of black residents who entered the Park Manor community increased [12]. As a result, whites commonly used hit-and-run tactics in an effort to scare the new residents off [13]. These acts of violence in Park Manor increased in scope. On July 25, 1949, a Park Manor Mob of 2000 destroyed a flat owned by Roscoe Johnson [14]. Among other acts of violence, the Fernwood Riot devastated the community that surrounded it. In 1947, 1,500 to 5,000 people gathered around a CHA (Chicago Housing Authority) project in an attempt to reduce the number of black veterans housed there [15]. Although police broke their efforts to stop the project, blacks were beaten and about 100 cars were overturned [16]. Nearly 700 police officers were dispatched to scope an area of 8 square miles in Fernwood which towered in comparison to the 1 square mile where the 1919 riots took place [17]. The increasing scope of violence in both these communities indicated ever-increasing tensions in racial relations.
Although blacks gained freedom under constitutional right, “de facto” segregation took place. A growing ambition to keep blacks out of white neighborhoods left most blacks confined to the ghettos in which they lived in. This halted the black race’s progress into racial assimilation.
[1] Hirsch, Arnold R. Making the Second Ghetto: Race and Housing in Chicago, 1940-1960. 1983, 5.
[2] Hirsch, 25.
[3] Hirsch, 25.
[4] Hirsch, 53.
[5] Hirsch, 78.
[6] U.S. Supreme Court Barrows v. Jackson, 346 U.S. 249 (1953)
[7] Lakewood, CA Brouchure, c.late 1940s
[8] Hirsch, 56.
[9] Hirsch, 36.
[10] Hirsch, 54.
[11] Hirsch, 56.
[12] Hirsch, 58.
[13] Hirsch, 58.
[14] Hirsch, 58.
[15] Hirsch, 54.
[16] Hirsch, 54.
[17] Hirsch, 55.