Assignment:
Chapter 3 Posting Deadline: Thursday, January
30
Reading:
Chapter 3: “The Coffin of Peace”: The Containment of Public Housing
Questions:
1. Were the groups advocating public housing in Detroit
successful in achieving development of public housing? Were they successful in
achieving racially integrated public housing? How or why not?
2. What does Sugrue mean when he says there is a conflict
between the two strains in New Deal Housing policy?
Source for Questions: Charles Brown, “[Marxism-Thaxis] Study
Guide: Origins of the Urban Crisis.” Retrieved Jan 11, 2009. http://lists.econ.utah.edu/pipermail/marxism-thaxis/2009-January/023574.html
Assignment -
Deadline: Thursday, January 23
A. Post two paragraphs inspired by the
study guide questions/thoughts for the week
B. Post two separate comments to
one or more of your colleagues reacting to their paragraphs.
In post-war Detroit, racial integration of housing appeared as much of an alien concept to many residents, as it would have been to those living in the deep South. In addition, groups advocating the building of public housing in Detroit were far less successful with this mission, than those in other major cities. According to Sugrue, “As a result of the events of the 1940s, Detroit, unlike New York and Chicago, had relatively little permanent public housing . . . Smaller cities like Boston, Newark, Norfolk, St. Louis, and New Orleans all built more public housing during the early 1950s than Detroit.” (86)
ReplyDeleteIronically, one would think a populace with strong union ties would have been ardent supporters of public housing. However, advocates of such housing conflicted with single-family homeowners, as well as, whites opposed to living with Blacks. Using twisted patriotic rhetoric, they vehemently resisted such integration as a justification to protect “their way of life.” During this time, the sensitivities of white residents were deemed much more important to the needs of Blacks who had access to far fewer adequate housing opportunities than their white counterparts. Moreover, efforts to locate public housing in neighboring communities was also met with futility.
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DeleteYou make some very good points above. To piggy-back on your comment of "twisted patriotic rhetoric" - the picture on page 74 signifies that exact phase with American flags tied to the sign that says "We Want White Tenants in our White Community." Somehow, trying to say that whites were more "American" and thus entitled to more than black Americans. That backwards way of thinking is another shameful example of the struggles that many races of people have faced throughout this nations history.
DeleteWhen Sugrue began Chapter three with veteran Charles Johnson's story, it set the tone for the remainder of the chapter. Post-war housing in Detroit was another example of the major difficulties that faced the black community in Detroit. Between 1947-1952, the gap between whites and blacks in public housing placements were incredibly large. white residents of Detroit were granted housing at nearly a 10:1 ratio over black residents.
ReplyDeleteAs the New Deal was introduced to the nation, groups like the Eight Mile Civic Association and United Autoworkers 600 put pressure on the Federal Housing Administration that would provide opportunity of private ownership for the city's growing black population. The opportunity of ownership in new neighborhoods for black residents was bittersweet due to the fact that white Detroiters used the same New Deal "protect the integrity" of their all white neighborhoods.
Thank you for citing that incredible statistic on the ratio between whites and blacks regarding public housing placements.
DeleteWhat I find most memorable in the chapter are the roles Mayors Jeffries and Cobo played in supporting discriminatory housing practices. It will be difficult for me to hear anyone mention I-96 or Cobo Center without remembering their ignominious roles in the city's history.