On Being

The second factor that would play increasing prominence in the formation of the modern black ghetto was the relative poverty of African Americans compared to European Americans. Discrimination in education, employment, and housing was, of course, legal, but there were other, less well-known causes of the relative poverty of black Americans.

Poverty had been widespread among all ethnic groups during the Great Depression, but many Federal programs had helped to alleviate that poverty. Unfortunately, African Americans were often left out of those efforts. Two of the most important elements of social insurance introduced during the Depression, for instance, were Social Security and mandatory unemployment insurance, but they specifically excluded domestics and agricultural workers. Since two-thirds of employed blacks were, at that time, either domestics or agricultural workers, most black people were not eligible for benefits. While the rest of the country was receiving significant Federal help in moving out of poverty, African Americans were left out.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was another important anti-poverty program developed during the Depression to guarantee mortgages for the purchase of homes. This not only allowed families to become homeowners (and thus accumulate wealth) but also created jobs and provided investment in the community. Citing concerns that the poorer black neighborhoods were not good financial risks, however, the FHA "redlined" almost all black areas, refusing to guarantee mortgages there. Private lenders followed suit. These FHA policies lasted well into the 1960, and redlining by private institutions is still in unofficial practice today.

Finally, cities had frequently used zoning requirements (first initiated in the United States in the early 1900s) to zone poor neighborhoods as "industrial," prohibiting not only new residential construction but also frequently the improvement of old residential buildings. The quality of life in these areas was already lower because of neighboring industry, and the housing stock tended to deteriorate easily. Other poor people could move out to other areas, but the reality of segregation forced African Americans to stay in these increasingly industrialized areas of the cities.

Despite the segregation, crowding and poverty, however, the black ghettos of the early 1950s were viable neighborhoods, primarily because of the intact social organization. A series of events over the next three decades, however, was to change that situation markedly.