3.3.3
The White Flight
The White Flight
The White Flight
Many white people moved out of the cities and into rural areas after the Second World War. This is known as the white flight.
Increasing popularity of the suburbs
Increasing popularity of the suburbs
- The ‘suburb’ grew in popularity after the Second World War.
- 11 million new homes were built in the suburbs at this time, many by the Levitt brothers.
- In 1920 only 17% of Americans lived in the suburbs yet by 1960, 33% of Americans did.
- Most of these people were white and middle-class.
Reasons for moving to the suburbs
Reasons for moving to the suburbs
- Many white people moved out of cities to escape the continuing race riots.
- However, there were other reasons for moving. These included:
- The government offered cheap mortgages.
- Houses were cheaper in the suburbs.
- It was a cheaper standard of living in the suburbs.
- The building of new suburban areas was a new form of de facto (not written in law) segregation.
Ghettos
Ghettos
- Whilst suburban areas expanded, so too did black ghettos in big cities such as LA and Chicago.
- Black people tended to stay in these ghetto areas because of the racism that they faced elsewhere. Racism also meant that they were an economically deprived group.
- They had also built up communities in these areas.
- The de jure segregation of the South seemed to be repeating itself in the North with the only difference being that it was de facto not de jure.
- Divisions between white and black communities were made worse by the terrorisation of black communities.
Racial boundaries in Chicago
Racial boundaries in Chicago
- Between 1944 and 1946, 46 fire-bombings of black homes took place in Chicago alone.
- The city even had racial boundaries which groups like the ‘White Circle League’ enforced by aiming to keep their streets ‘free of Negroes’.
- Racist groups would also stage ‘housing riots’ which saw them drive out black families from their homes in white communities.
Levittowns
Levittowns
New suburban towns or ‘Levittowns’ were built in racially exclusive areas.
Levittowns
Levittowns
- The new suburban towns or ‘Levittowns’ were built in racially exclusive areas.
- Only white families were permitted to live there and in one instance when a black family moved in, they were subject to having rocks thrown at their house.
- Despite the family trying to stay they were forced to leave after suffering discrimination.
- It wasn’t until 1961 that a family of black people managed to successfully settle in a Levittown.
- The towns were labelled as ‘Jim Crow Levittowns’.
Life in Levittowns
Life in Levittowns
- These towns, the first being in Long Island, were exclusive and residents had to confirm that they would live under certain rules.
- For example, they had to mow their lawn weekly and not hang out their washing on the weekend.
- The houses were relatively cheap ($8000 which was twice the price of an average family income) yet they were built to a high specification and had various new gadgets in them such as central heating.
1‘Free at Last’ 1865-77
1.1The Thirteenth Amendment
1.2Radical Reconstruction, 1867-77
2The Triumph of ‘Jim Crow’ 1883-c1890
2.1Jim Crow Laws & Civil Rights Cases
3The New Deal and Race Relations, 1933–41
3.1Failure to Address Black Grievances
3.2The New Deal
3.3The Second World War
4‘I have a dream’, 1954–68
4.1Civil Rights Activities, 1954–63
4.2Civil Rights 1964-68
4.3Malcolm X & The Black Panthers
5Obama's Campaign for the Presidency, 2004–09
5.1The Late 20th Century
5.2Barack Obama & his Political Career
5.3Reasons for Obama's Victory
Jump to other topics
1‘Free at Last’ 1865-77
1.1The Thirteenth Amendment
1.2Radical Reconstruction, 1867-77
2The Triumph of ‘Jim Crow’ 1883-c1890
2.1Jim Crow Laws & Civil Rights Cases
3The New Deal and Race Relations, 1933–41
3.1Failure to Address Black Grievances
3.2The New Deal
3.3The Second World War
4‘I have a dream’, 1954–68
4.1Civil Rights Activities, 1954–63
4.2Civil Rights 1964-68
4.3Malcolm X & The Black Panthers
5Obama's Campaign for the Presidency, 2004–09
5.1The Late 20th Century
5.2Barack Obama & his Political Career
5.3Reasons for Obama's Victory
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