Housing Discrimination In The 1960s

White privilege is an advantage in society that is unmerited. Though it is practiced in every day life (whether it’s subtle or not), the majority views it as “absurd” and “non-existent”. It is a taboo that creates feelings of guilt, hostility and anger, but it must be addressed and understood in order to be eradicated. It is necessary for white people to acknowledge their part in maintaining and benefiting from a society that has thrived on racial hierarchy and white supremacy for centuries. White privilege is essentially the flip side of racism; racism does not only disadvantage people of colour, but grants white people power and dominance in our so-called “post-racial” society (McKintosh, 1). In this essay, I will argue that positive and widespread representation and implied acceptance are the most important features of white privilege. Widespread representation is the most important feature of white privilege because we live in an age where the media not only reflects, but also controls our real worldviews and attitudes. The second most important feature of white privilege is adequate housing opportunities and implied acceptance and respect. It is necessary to eliminate this system that puts people in power based on their skin tone and these two aspects are crucial in order to reach that.

Since the end of the Second World War, the housing market had blossom throughout the nation. Thousands of the American people and veterans were able to finance a home; however, there were many who were not given the same or equal opportunities. In A Matter of Place, the documentary argued that people are still facing housing discrimination in the U.S. Housing discrimination persist because a couple were denied housing due to their race and a man was solely harassed based on his sexual orientation.

During the 1950’s African Americans experienced inequality and discrimination. For these reasons Armstrong received many racist reviews in the newspapers, Armstrong refused to comment on political matters or on topics such as segregation and racism. This changed however in 1957, when Armstrong saw the Little Rock Central High School crisis or the “Little Rock nine” as it is also known. When Armstrong saw the crisis on television he was furious and told a reporter, Larry Lubenow, that President Dwight D. Eisenhower had "no guts" and stated, "The way they are treating my people in the South, the Government can go to hell.” When the eager reporter returned to his editor thinking he had a huge new cover story for their paper, the editor said there was no way Armstrong would have said something like that, and that they could only print the story if he had some form of proof. When the reporter returned to Armstrong he asked his permission to print the story.

This week’s readings focused on a topics associated with the white population of America. Some of these topics included the privileges white individuals are often unknowingly accustomed to (McIntosh,1) as well as the lack of responsibility and motivation many whites feel when it comes to eliminating racism. This is a social problem because it constructs biases that often times negatively affect the interactions between whites and individuals of color. This potentially leads to many issues including racism, hate crimes, and the unequal treatment races.

The readings for this week fall under the umbrella of “Issues in Housing Policy”, more specifically race, discrimination and segregation. Looking at this topic with the naked eye may lead one to conclude that these issues are age-old, but by looking at the occurrences within the housing policy we can very much conclude that these drawbacks still remain and are salient to the present. To begin, the Schwartz piece highlights that housing policies are mandated to condemn the discriminatory practices that plague real estate and mortgage markets, where African-Americans and other minorities are at a “decided disadvantage”. However, the federal laws passed, such as the Fair Housing Act of 1968, prohibiting racial discrimination by real estate

Inequality in today's america towards people of color is the result of a history of slavery in segregation in the united states. Michelle Alexander, a highly acclaimed civil rights lawyer and author of the book “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness” talks about racial hostility in

The issue of race has been present in America's history since before slavery, and continues to be an issue in today’s society. The fight for equal rights between African Americans and white Americans is one that is dependent on the involvement of both parties. The two articles that I will be analyzing focus on the topic of white privilege in America and what it means. The everyday genre that I will be discussing is a Huffington Post article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson, and an excerpt from a book written by Francis E. Kendall Ph.D.

The deep but subtly entrenched nature of white privilege into the American social structure is problematic because it creates complications to overcoming this type of racism. The difficulty in detecting white privilege facilitates the denial of the role white privilege plays in affecting an individual’s living experience in America. The reality is that white privilege does make a difference in the opportunities available to certain individuals. However, this difference is not as subtle. The biggest problem white privilege poses, aside from the discrimination and bias it employs, is that it is difficult to identify. Due to its intrinsic nature, eradicating its effects requires a reconstruction of the white supremacist American social system.

The national problem over the Brown v. Board of Education court case had come to an end as integration of public facilities was beginning. People were mostly being excepted, Many things were still separated out of national control like water fountains, bathrooms and much more, even though they were accepted they still were not ‘accepted’ into the white society’s eye. Not only did they have to work harder but these under privileged members had to earn what they did and now their “Progress is…[apart of the] largely suppressed story of race and race relations over the past half-century. And thus it’s news that more than 40 percent of African Americans now consider themselves members of the middle class. Forty-two percent own their own homes

At the height of the 1960s, discrimination was at its peak. There was no middle ground between whites and blacks. White people had their place in society, black people had theirs. Americans often felt as if white people were superior than blacks. Prejudice, in different forms, existed on both sides. It was not often to see these two races associated together. According to the Plessy v. Ferguson court case, black people and white people were supposed to be separate but equal, but social institutions emphasized discrimination and segregation that were forced upon blacks.

“More important, most African Americans did not benefit from the economic boom of the 1950s that allowed so many white Americans to purchase homes in the suburbs” (Hine & Harrold 569). In our history classes in almost every American school we were taught that the 1950s was a golden age due to the high consumerism, new businesses, the unparalleled prosperity, stay at home wives, and the old fashioned American barbeque on the weekends. Although this seemed like a golden age, it was much different for the people of color, especially the black community. The African Americans lost jobs, weren’t allowed to purchase homes due to the Jim Crow laws and the 1948 Shelley v. Kramer case, and their neighborhoods were deteriorating. Instances such as these

Over the last one hundred and thirty years African Americans have little by little-gained freedom for themselves as slaves and domestic servants. Now as a culture they are legally capable of obtaining jobs and positions in all areas of private and public organizations, (Hayes, A. F., & Preacher, K. J., 2010). This particular ethnic group are known to be instrumental in holding their cultures together through times of constant struggle. They have used rallies, protests, silent marches and received help from volunteer organizations to fight for rights as well as obtain justice in a racist and sexist society. This work explores the troubles African Americans face in Americas society today, through stereotypes and how gender roles as African Americans differ from each other as well as the American population.

It was a way to constraint African Americans to areas that were far away from those with status, class, and power. Segregation led to discrimination in economic opportunities, housing, and education. The black culture has suffered from the barriers that were placed through segregation. However, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 tried to limit some of the discrimination associated with segregation. It was discovered that even a “rising economic status had little or no effect on the level of segregation that blacks experience” (Massey and Denton 87). The authors imply that “black segregation would remain a universal high” (Massey and Denton 88). The problem with the continuing causes in Segregation is that even though the Fair Housing act was placed, many realtors still discriminate against blacks “through a series of ruses, lies, and deceptions, makes it hard for them to learn about, inspect, rent, or purchase homes in white neighborhoods” (Massey and Denton 97). Segregation and discrimination have a cumulative effect over time. Massey and Denton argued that the “act of discrimination may be small and subtle, together they have a powerful cumulative effect in lowering the probability of black entry into white neighborhood” (98). William Julius Wilson had

The essay “My Dungeon Shook” examines the issue of racial inequality in America and the limitations that have been positioned because of narrow minded thinking. Not only does the essay address the new and next generation of black people but it also educates white people about the experience of being a black man in the 1960’s in America.

The art series “The Color of Your Voice,” is a great way to spark conversations for this audience. The art collection discusses topics of race, discrimination, and how linguistics plays role in racism. There are three main artworks that encompasses the overall theme of the series. You Hear is a piece that depicts the experience of being a Black person on the phone. It hits on topics such as phone and housing discrimination, redlining, and policy. At the art gallery, this piece can be an avenue for Black people to discuss their experience with trying to get equal opportunity but being denied due to their speech. It is also a way to challenge the subconscious discrimination over the phone that they face from people in power, like employers. This sparks discussion on the institutional barriers set up against black people. White people wouldn’t work on not judging people by the way they speak if they haven’t really considered that they were discriminating based on what they heard over phone.