There is much evidence to prove that the end of World War II altered American Society dramatically. The end of the war brought about the heightened allure of owning a house within the suburbs. The concept of subordination was not new, its manifestation in the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s, was indicative of what would soon bring about a new urban form. This brought about a new social status of minorities, more so the African Americans. This occurred in the wake of the extremely violent decline of Jim Crow Racism. American Cities took on a whole new form where the inner cities were deemed black dominant areas while the whites dominated the suburban areas. These specific areas were once called “chocolate cities” and “vanilla suburbs.”
But the process of suburbanization or what many called “white flight,” was not solely dominated by the great American Dream to own a home. Suburbanisation was also brought about by racism which was facilitated by the federal government’s form of low-cost veteran loans and the increase in urban mobility. This led to the abandonment of inner cities due to more racism. When WWII ended, middle class white Americans started to evacuate the inner cities. Their initial justification for the move was in regards to the new housing which had sprung to life in the suburbs.In truth, there was actually a more sinister reason for the move as well. The 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown V Board of Education of Topeka, had many desiring to keep the Jim Crow racism in play.
Therefore middle-class white Americans moved in hope of maintaining their homogeneous neighbourhoods, schools, stores and so forth. But the African Americans wanted homes just as pristine and nice as their white neighbours, they wanted schools which offered their children as good an education as the white Americans. Therefore, by the 1990’s the African Americans followed the whites to the suburbs. But the African Americans thought little of racism, racism was not the underlying factor for abandoning the inner cities. They were more focused on the economic and class factors. The ‘pull’ of new suburbs, or what many called the ‘push’ from a host of inner cities was very influential. In the wake of WWII federal housing programs, mass produced housing and newly made highways aided in making suburbanization a possibility, a real thing.
But the African Americans faced many challenges such as extreme violence, racial discrimination, isolation and segregation. Therefore many faced a horrible ghetto style existence. Many government programs vetoed the concept of allowing African Americans to purchase suburbans homes. ‘Redlining’ by lending institutions and realtors played a major role in suburbanization. In fact, demographic studies clearly show how the presence of people who were deemed ‘undesirables’ led to the abandonment of the inner cities by the whites.The 1950’s changed American society by the increase in urban mobility. The automobile was fast becoming a social symbol, one of wealth and class. This led to the development of new suburbs. Thus class differences and racially segregated neighbourhoods were very prominent.
The increase in urban mobility altered America’s culture in so many ways. But the true benefactors of an improvement in urban mobility were the white middle-class people. But the African American people had little funds to do anything other than reside where their finances allowed them to. This increased the amount of racially segregated towns and cities. The whites dwelt in the suburbs while the minorities resided in the inner cities. When one group or people are segregated from others due to racism, the gaps in understanding and acceptance intensify. White people only interacted with whites, African Americans only with their kind. Therefore prejudices are retained and fed more fuel by racist parents, family friends and acquaintances.
Due to the African Americans being racially segregated from the whites, crime increased, poverty increased, drug dependency increased. How where they to feed their own when racism prevailed and had many literally beginning for employment, financial assistance and so forth? Racial segregation is still very real, although diminishing a little each day. But statistics state that the class structure is still so very prominent. A myriad of African Americans still suffer. Poverty still prevails and a host of children still attend schools white people would not dare send their own children to. Many are homeless or living on the edge of despair. Suburbanization has placed so many barriers and brick walls up, creating an ever increasing gap between the highly esteemed class of people, the middle class, the working class and the poverty stricken. And some call this humanity?
