Lecture 14 - America's Suburb

Private deeds restricted nonwhite ownership or occupation; common from late 19th century, spreading in early 20th
Form: covenant in deed appendix/article barring sale, rent, or lease to minorities (often Black, plus Jews, Chinese, Japanese, Mexicans)
Diffusion spurred by urbanization and race riots (1917–1921); National Association of Real Estate Boards promoted them
Enforcement and diffusion depended on initial policy outcomes and later reinforcement by federal housing policy after 1933
1926 Corrigan v. Buckley upheld enforcement; 1948 Supreme Court reversed practice, making covenants unenforceable by courts but not instantly erased from memory or practice

Black population in LA surged 1900–1920; most African Americans confined to a few areas (spatial ghetto) by covenants and policy
Central Avenue became a Black neighborhood; Mexicans established Barrios as ethnic enclaves
Ghettos/ethnic enclaves reflected external racial barriers, not purely internal community choice

African American population in LA grows by >100{,}000 between 1940–1950
June 1943: Zoot Suit Riots in LA; clashes between white servicemen and Mexican American youths; violence and arrests biased against Mexican Americans
Interdependence Day (July 4, 1945): urban leaders promoted racial harmony; but postwar realities persisted
1946: Proposition 11 (FEPC) sought to outlaw racial/religious job discrimination; faced strong opposition from business and labor coalitions
95% of job openings were effectively restricted by race, creed, religion, gender, or national origin in state employment services at the time

FEPC push tied to wartime democracy ideals; opposition argued tolerance cannot be forced by law
Proposition 11 defeated in 1946; 1960s data showed continued de facto segregation in labor markets
1961 Saxton observed skilled trades in CA were 99% white; described as “genteel apartheid”
Rumford Fair Housing Act (early 1960s): banned housing discrimination and empowered FEPC to enforce housing rights
Proposition 14 (1964): constitutional amendment exempting real estate developers and landlords from anti-discrimination laws; passed with wide margins (≈2:1 in favor)
Proposition 14 framed as protecting property rights, but perpetuated segregation and discriminatory housing patterns

Allied Gardens (Van Nuys, 1948): housing ads barred non-Caucasians despite covenants; reflects postwar resistance to integration
1953 Compton confrontation: Alfred Jackson and family faced mob; violence and intimidation to keep Compton white
1950s–60s: local authorities and real estate groups used law, vigilante actions, and zoning to maintain racial boundaries
Fontana tragedy (Short family, 1945–1953): vigilante threats; family burned in home while seeking suburban shelter; authorities ruled accident despite evidence of racial violence
San Fernando Valley housing search (1951): Reverend Lacey denied rental due to race; Wells family filed FEPC complaint; racism in housing access common
1960s: rising suburban Latino homeownership despite barriers; many communities in LA region remained segregated by design and practice

Postwar veterans (>$30{,}000$ in area) sought GI benefits and suburban homes; many faced discrimination
Pico Rivera and nearby areas became Latino suburban corridors (Monterey Park, Montebello, El Monte, Downey, Bell, etc.)
Pico Rivera (1960 census): 81.5 ext{ extpercent} owner-occupied structures; Latino households represented 23.9 ext{ extpercent} of population; indicates growing but targeted integration
Suburbs offered homes but often linked to segregation by race/ethnicity; families navigated barriers, sometimes signaling heritage as a strategy to access housing

Manuel Gonzalez (1951): WWII veteran denied loan and housing in GI tract despite eligibility; forced to seek housing in restricted areas
Arce Trujillo family: moved to Aliso Village public housing; postwar eviction pressures and rising rents led to relocation to Pico Rivera; family kept ties to East LA barrios
Suburban strategies: some families refused to abandon urban roots; others pursued Spanish-descended identities to facilitate housing access, while acknowledging ongoing segregation

Postwar California saw persistent, system-wide racial housing barriers rooted in covenants, zoning, lending, and vigilante action
Public policy (FEPC, Rumford Act) attempted to curb discrimination but faced strong political and economic opposition; full desegregation lagged
Southern California’s housing landscape was shaped by deliberate planning to separate by race and class, producing multiple Los Angeleses (and more) with lasting legacies
Mexican American suburbanization illustrates both barriers and mobility: strides toward ownership, yet within a context of ongoing discrimination and cultural ties to urban barrios
The events through the 1950s–1960s set the stage for the more overt civil rights struggles of the mid-1960s and beyond, including a push toward more equitable housing policy