Chapter 3
shortages and black population growth
created segregated neighborhoods.The
HOLC (Home Owners Loan Corporation)
perpetuated this by refusing loans to
blacks in white neighborhoods and
making it generally difficult for blacks to
get home loans,claiming they were poor
risks (Massey,1993).At a time when white
families were able to buy a home and
begin to accrue wealth,black families were
often denied the same opportunities.
Home ownership and the transfer of
wealth from one generation to the next
continued to be one of the markers of
social class difference.
African-Americans also took part in
bothWW I andWW II,serving in
segregated units.They fought for a
country which did not grant them all the
rights white citizens enjoyed.In fact,they
returned from the war to a country which
institutionalized segregation laws of
schools,public places,transportation,
restrooms,and restaurants.Not until 1964
were these laws completely repealed with
the Civil RightsAct,which ended legalized
segregation (Brinkley,2003).While black
males were given the right to vote at the
end of the CivilWar,the southern states
found ways to stop them from exercising
most of their rights.President Lyndon
Johnson signed theVoting RightsAct of
1965 making it illegal to prevent blacks
from voting.The 1950s and 1960s family enjoyed
unequaled prosperity. Families for the
first time owned a home, a car, and
the cultural icon—a television set.At a time when white families were able to
buy a home and begin to accrue wealth,
African- American families were often not
presented with the same opportunities.Lambert/ArchivePhotos/HultonArchive/GettyImages