BUT PERHAPS THE BEST EXAMPLE
OF HOW EUROPEAN ETHNICS WOULD FINALLY GAIN
THE FULL BENEFITS OF WHITENESS CAME WITH
AN INNOVATION IN HOUSING AT THE END OF WORLD WAR II. IT WAS A TIME WHEN
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF G.I.s CAME HOME,
READY TO START FAMILIES, BUT HAD NO PLACE TO LIVE. Man:
LIVING SPACE WAS AT A PREMIUM. IN THE BRONX THEY TRIED BUILDING QUONSET HUTS, AND THEY TURNED TO SLUMS, ALL THE QUONSET HUTS
JUST DISINTEGRATED. THERE WERE TWO FAMILIES
SHARING A HUT. ONE FAMILY AT ONE END,
ONE FAMILY AT THE OTHER, AND BEFORE YOU KNOW IT,
THEY WERE AWFUL. Announcer:
FHA CAME TO THE RESCUE BY ENSURING LONG-TERM LOW MONTHLY PAYMENT
MORTGAGE LOANS. Narrator: VETERANS
NEEDED HOMES FOR FAMILIES. THEY TURNED TO A REVOLUTIONARY
NEW DEAL HOUSING PROGRAM. IT WOULD RACIALIZE
HOUSING WEALTH AND OPPORTUNITY FOR DECADES IN WAYS
FEW COULD HAVE IMAGINED. Oliver: IN THE 1930s,
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CREATED THE FEDERAL HOUSING
ADMINISTRATION, WHOSE JOB IT WAS
TO PROVIDE LOANS, OR THE BACKING FOR LOANS, TO AVERAGE AMERICANS,
SO THEY COULD PURCHASE A HOME. Announcer:
DUE TO THE STIMULATION OF THE NATIONAL HOUSING ACT, FROM EVERY SECTION OF
THE COUNTRY COME REPORTS OF -- Oliver: IN ORDER
TO PURCHASE A HOUSE IN AMERICA PRIOR TO THE 1930s, YOU HAD TO PAY 50%
OF THE SALES PRICE UP FRONT. THE NEW TERMS
OF PURCHASING A HOME WAS THAT YOU PUT
10% OR 20% DOWN AND THE BANK FINANCED 80% OF IT, NOT OVER FIVE YEARS,
BUT OVER 30 YEARS, AT RELATIVELY LOW RATES. THIS OPENED UP THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR AMERICANS TO OWN HOMES
LIKE NEVER BEFORE. THE AVERAGE PERSON
COULD OWN THAT HOME. Narrator:
IF THESE TERMS SOUND FAMILIAR, THEY SHOULD,
BECAUSE THIS IS ESSENTIALLY THE SAME FINANCING SCHEME THAT ALLOWS MOST AMERICANS
TO OWN THEIR HOMES TODAY. FEDERAL PROGRAMS AND BANKS SANK MILLIONS INTO
THE HOME CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY. THEIR MESSAGE TO VETERANS -- YOU CAN AFFORD A NEW HOME, BUY A NEW HOME NOW. ON THE OUTSKIRTS
OF BALTIMORE, MEMPHIS, CHICAGO, LOS ANGELES, DENVER, AND OTHER CITIES, BRAND-NEW COMMUNITIES SPRANG UP. ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS WAS
A LONG ISLAND POTATO FIELD, TRANSFORMED INTO
17,000 NEW HOMES. IT WAS CALLED LEVITTOWN. TAX DOLLARS HELPED MAKE
THE SINGLE FAMILY HOME A MASS-PRODUCED CONSUMER ITEM. THE AMERICAN DREAM
HAD A NEW NAME -- SUBURBIA. Juliano: YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER, THE PEOPLE WHO CAME HERE IN 1947, 1948, WERE YOUNG EX-G.I.s
WHOSE UPPERMOST CONCERN WAS TAKING ADVANTAGE
OF THE G.I. BILL AND MAKING THINGS BETTER
FOR THEMSELVES. Narrator:
BEFORE MOVING TO LEVITTOWN, HERB KALISMAN AND HIS WIFE DORIS LIVED IN A CRAMPED ATTIC
APARTMENT IN NEW YORK CITY. Doris: AND WHEN WE BEGAN
TO LOOK FOR AN APARTMENT WE FOUND THAT THE APARTMENTS
WERE 100, 125, $150 A MONTH. I KNOW
THAT'S UNBELIEVABLE TODAY, BUT IT WAS
TOO EXPENSIVE FOR US. AND OUT HERE IN LEVITTOWN, THE MORTGAGE PAYMENTS
WERE $65 A MONTH. [ TELEPHONE RINGING ] THEY SAY YOUR KITCHEN
DAZZLES EVERY EYE. ś A BRAND-NEW SINK,
A BUILT-IN OVEN ś ś A NEW REFRIGERATOR
AND A PHONE ś Juliano: IF YOU WERE BUYING
A LEVITT HOME IN 1947, '48, '49, '50, AND '51, YOU WOULD GET -- THIS WOULD BE YOUR KITCHEN. YOU WOULD GET A G.E. STOVE, G.E. REFRIGERATOR,
AND A BENDIX WASH MACHINE. IT WOULD BE PART
OF THE REAL ESTATE. Man: WE CAME TO
LEVITTOWN AND WE FOUND A MODEL HOUSE AND WE WALKED IN
AND WE LOOKED AROUND. AND, OF COURSE,
IN THE EYES OF A YOUNG MAN WHO WAS RAISED IN THE GHETTO,
SO TO SPEAK, IT WAS AN
INTERESTING EXPERIENCE, AN INTERESTING LIFESTYLE,
SEEING ALL THE NEW MODERN CONVENIENCES. VERY FASCINATING. Narrator:
EUGENE BURNETT CAME HOME WITH ALMOST A MILLION
OTHER BLACK G.I.s. THEY HAD FOUGHT FOR THE COUNTRY IN SEGREGATED RANKS. THEY RETURNED
HOPING FOR EQUALITY AND THE AMERICAN DREAM. FOR MANY,
THAT DREAM WAS A NEW HOME FOR LITTLE MONEY DOWN, AND SOME OF THE EASIEST
CREDIT TERMS IN HISTORY. Eugene:
I WENT UP TO THE SALESMAN. WE'RE INTERESTED
IN YOUR HOME, WE'RE INTERESTED IN
BUYING ONE AND WHAT
IS THE PROCEDURE? IS THERE AN APPLICATION
TO BE FILLED OUT? SO HE LOOKED AT ME, LOOKED AROUND, AND HE SAID TO ME, HE SAYS, LISTEN, IT'S NOT ME, BUT THE OWNERS OF THIS
DEVELOPMENT HAVE NOT, AS YET, DECIDED TO SELL THESE HOMES
TO NEGROES. Bernice:
IT WAS AS THOUGH IT WASN'T REAL. YOU CAN'T IMAGINE, FOR SOMEONE TO COME OUT
AND ACTUALLY TELL YOU THAT THEY CAN'T SELL TO YOU,
YOU KNOW? I WAS REALLY ON A -- OH, MAN, LOOK AT THIS HOUSE,
CAN YOU IMAGINE HAVING THIS? AND THEN FOR THEM TO TELL ME BECAUSE OF THE COLOR OF MY SKIN
I CAN'T BE A PART OF IT? Narrator:
THE FHA UNDERWRITERS WARNED THAT THE PRESENCE OF EVEN ONE
OR TWO NON-WHITE FAMILIES COULD UNDERMINE
REAL ESTATE VALUES IN THE NEW SUBURBS. THESE GOVERNMENT GUIDELINES
WERE WIDELY ADOPTED BY PRIVATE INDUSTRY. RACE HAD LONG PLAYED A ROLE IN LOCAL REAL ESTATE PRACTICES. STARTING IN THE 1930s, GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
INSTITUTIONALIZED A NATIONAL APPRAISAL SYSTEM WHERE RACE WAS AS MUCH A FACTOR
IN REAL ESTATE ASSESSMENT AS THE CONDITION
OF THE PROPERTY. USING THIS SCHEME, FEDERAL INVESTIGATORS EVALUATED 239 CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY FOR FINANCIAL RISK. Oliver: SO THAT THOSE
COMMUNITIES THAT WERE ALL-WHITE, SUBURBAN, AND FAR AWAY FROM MINORITY AREAS, THEY RECEIVED
THE HIGHEST RATING, AND THAT WAS THE COLOR GREEN. THOSE COMMUNITIES
THAT WERE ALL MINORITY OR IN THE PROCESS OF CHANGING, THEY GOT THE LOWEST RATING... AND THE COLOR RED,
THEY WERE RED-LINED. AS A CONSEQUENCE, MOST OF THE MORTGAGES
WENT TO SUBURBANIZING AMERICA, AND IT SUBURBANIZED IT RACIALLY. Goodman: THE RACIAL LOGIC ADOPTS THE PRINCIPLE THAT
AN INTEGRATED NEIGHBORHOOD IS A BAD RISK,
IS A FINANCIAL RISK -- THAT AN INTEGRATED NEIGHBORHOOD IS LIKELY TO BE
AN UNSTABLE NEIGHBORHOOD. UNSTABLE SOCIALLY, BUT THEREFORE ALSO UNSTABLE ECONOMICALLY. Narrator:
WHEN THE WHITE RESIDENTS OF EIGHT MILE ROAD IN DETROIT WERE TOLD THEY WERE TOO CLOSE
TO A BLACK NEIGHBORHOOD TO QUALIFY
FOR A POSITIVE FHA RATING, THEY BUILT THIS SIX-FOOT WALL BETWEEN THEMSELVES
AND THEIR BLACK NEIGHBORS. ONCE THE WALL WENT UP, MORTGAGES ON THE WHITE
PROPERTIES WERE APPROVED. BETWEEN 1934 AND 1962, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
UNDERWROTE $120 BILLION IN NEW HOUSING. LESS THAN 2% WENT TO NON-WHITES. Bernice:
I CAN UNDERSTAND AN INDIVIDUAL DEPENDING ON HIS ENVIRONMENT
OR HIS FAMILY OR WHATEVER BEING RACIST, BUT FOR YOUR COUNTRY
TO SANCTION IT, GIVE HIM TOOLS TO DO THAT, THERE'S SOMETHING
DEFINITELY WRONG THERE. Herb Kalisman: I THINK WE HAD
THE GOLDEN CHANCE AFTER WORLD WAR II
AND WE FLUBBED IT. BECAUSE HERE WE HAD
A G.I. BILL THAT WAS, YOU KNOW,
THAT WAS AVAILABLE TO EVERYBODY, BUT IN A WAY THEY DIDN'T
MAKE IT AVAILABLE TO EVERYBODY. AND THAT WAS
A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY IN THIS COUNTRY
AND WE MISSED IT, WE REALLY MISSED IT. Man: BUT YOU CAN ALWAYS TELL,
CAN'T YOU? A TOWN WITH GOOD
REAL ESTATE PEOPLE IS A MORE
SUBSTANTIAL COMMUNITY, BECAUSE MORE PEOPLE
OWN THEIR OWN HOMES. THAT'S RIGHT. Man: AND NOW IT'S
SORT OF HARD TO BELIEVE THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
NATIONALIZED AND INTRODUCED RED LINING. IN A FUNNY WAY, IT WASN'T
JUST GIVING SOMETHING TO WHITES, IT WAS CONSTRUCTING WHITENESS. WHITENESS MEANT, AS IN THE PAST, WHITE HAD MEANT BEING A CITIZEN
AND BEING A CHRISTIAN. IT NOW MEANT LIVING IN THE SUBURBS. Narrator: ONLY 50 YEARS BEFORE, EUROPEAN ETHNICS WERE BELIEVED
TO BE DISTINCT RACES. NOW, IN THESE NEW
SEGREGATED NEIGHBORHOODS, THEY BLENDED TOGETHER
AS WHITE AMERICANS. Doris Kalisman: WE DID HAVE
DIFFERENT RELIGIOUS GROUPS, WE WERE MIXED UP THERE, BUT WE WERE
AN ALL-WHITE COMMUNITY, AND I THINK
IT'S AN UNREALISTIC WORLD. I THINK THERE'S
SOMETHING STERILE ABOUT EVERYONE BEING
ON THE SAME ECONOMIC LEVEL AND EVERYONE
BEING THE SAME COLOR. Man:
IT CERTAINLY DOESN'T PROMOTE A FEELING OF A WIDER WORLD -- WIDER, NOTWHITER -- TO LIVE IN A PLACE WHERE THERE ARE ONLY PEOPLE
THAT LOOK LIKE YOU. Narrator:
CARTOONIST BILL GRIFFITH REMEMBERS MOVING FROM BROOKLYN
TO LEVITTOWN AS A KID. Griffith: IT'S AN UNTENABLE,
ARTIFICIAL WORLD. YOU'RE CREATING A WEIRD UTOPIA IN A WAY, A UTOPIA OF, YOU KNOW,
MIDDLE-CLASS WHITE PEOPLE WHO WERE TRYING TO DENY
THAT THEY WERE LIVING IN A MULTI-RACIAL WORLD. AND HOW LONG
CAN YOU KEEP THAT UP? YOU CAN'T KEEP THAT UP FOREVER. WHETHER THERE WERE GOING TO BE BLACK PEOPLE
IN LEVITTOWN, WAS JUST -- IT WOULD BE
ALMOST THE EQUIVALENT OF SAYING ARE THERE GOING TO BE
MARTIANS IN LEVITTOWN? Powell: THE BASIC IDEA OF
WHITENESS IS WHO'S INCLUDED, WHO'S PART OF THE FAMILY, AND IT HAS
MATERIAL CONSEQUENCES. BLACKS WEREN'T COMPLETELY
LEFT OUT OF THE HOUSING MARKET. THE HOUSING MARKET
THAT THEY WERE EXPOSED TO WAS LARGELY PUBLIC HOUSING. AND PUBLIC HOUSING,
FIRST OF ALL, WAS BUILT ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY,
WITH A FEW EXCEPTIONS, IN THE CENTRAL CITY. AND AFTER WORLD WAR II
WE STARTED BUILDING LARGER AND LARGER
PUBLIC HOUSING PROJECTS, WHICH WERE CALLED
VERTICAL GHETTOS. ALL OF A SUDDEN
YOU WERE CONCENTRATING LARGE NUMBERS OF POOR PEOPLE
OF COLOR IN ONE PLACE. Narrator:
ANOTHER FEDERAL PROGRAM, URBAN RENEWAL, WAS SUPPOSED TO MAKE CITIES
MORE LIVABLE. 90% OF ALL HOUSING
DESTROYED BY URBAN RENEWAL WAS NOT REPLACED. TWO-THIRDS OF THOSE DISPLACED
WERE BLACK OR LATINO. Lyndon Johnson:
FAIR HOUSING FOR ALL, ALL HUMAN BEINGS WHO LIVE IN THIS COUNTRY IS NOW A PART
OF THE AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE. Narrator:
IN 1968, PRESIDENT JOHNSON SIGNED THE FAIR HOUSING ACT. FOR THE FIRST TIME, RACIAL LANGUAGE WAS REMOVED
FROM FEDERAL HOUSING POLICY. NON-WHITE FAMILIES BEGAN MOVING INTO TRADITIONALLY
WHITE COMMUNITIES IN NUMBERS. Woman: WE LIVED IN AN APARTMENT, A TWO-FAMILY HOUSE IN QUEENS. AND WHEN WE CAME HERE IT WAS THE FIRST TIME
WE HAD BOUGHT A HOUSE. AND I WAS LOOKING FOR EVERYTHING
IN THE STORYBOOKS. Narrator:
THE FRISBYS MOVED FROM QUEENS TO SUBURBAN ROOSEVELT, ONLY A FEW MILES
FROM LEVITTOWN. LIKE THE FRISBYS, MANY NON-WHITE FAMILIES
WOULD DISCOVER THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF RACE
IN THE REAL ESTATE MARKET. THEY WATCHED AS THEIR HOMES
AND NEIGHBORHOODS IN SUBURBIA DECLINED PRECISELY BECAUSE
THEY HAD MOVED INTO THEM. Frisby: WHEN I MOVED
INTO A NEIGHBORHOOD, I THOUGHT IT WOULD STAY INTACT
THE WAY IT WAS. ON THE STREET THAT I MOVED ON WHEN I MOVED THERE, IT WAS PREDOMINATELY WHITE. WITHIN TWO YEARS
IT WAS PREDOMINATELY BLACK. Narrator:
IT WAS CALLED BLOCKBUSTING. REAL ESTATE AGENTS PREYED ON THE RACIAL FEARS
OF WHITE HOMEOWNERS, TO GET THEM
TO SELL THEIR HOMES QUICKLY FOR LESS THAN MARKET VALUE. THE HOMES WERE RESOLD
TO NON-WHITES AT INFLATED PRICES. Woman:
WELL, THEY WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HAVING
BLACK PEOPLE MOVE IN. NOW, I WILL GIVE YOU CASH IF
YOU WANT TO SELL ME YOUR HOUSE. DO YOU WANT TO STAY WITH
BLACK PEOPLE NEXT DOOR TO YOU? AND THAT'S THE WAY IT WENT ON. AND AS BUNNY SAID,
A LOT OF THE PEOPLE JUST SAID YES,
I'LL TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN. AND THAT'S THE START
OF THE WHITE PEOPLE LEAVING. Narrator: AS MORE
BLACK AND LATINO FAMILIES MOVED TO ROOSEVELT, REAL ESTATE BECAME
MORE AND MORE DEPRESSED, JUST AS THE FHA HAD PREDICTED. BUT WHY? Man: I HAVE AN IDEA MY HOUSE
IS PROBABLY WORTH AROUND 120 IN THIS TOWN. BUT IT WOULD BE WORTH
IN MONTOUR OR GARDEN CITY
OR SOME OTHER PLACE... PROBABLY AROUND
200,000 OR BETTER. NOW YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT 80,000. YOU SAID TO ME ONE TIME ABOUT WHY DO PEOPLE DISLIKE THE BLACKS? WELL, MONEY-WISE,
THERE'S A REASON. NOT THAT YOU DISLIKE
THE BLACKS SO MUCH, BUT YOU DISLIKE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A COMMUNITY TURNS
FROM WHITE TO BLACK. Narrator: IT WASN'T
AFRICAN-AMERICANS MOVING IN THAT CAUSED HOUSING VALUES
TO GO DOWN IN ROOSEVELT AND OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS, IT WAS WHITES LEAVING. Man: WHEN A NEIGHBORHOOD, A PREVIOUSLY WHITE NEIGHBORHOOD
STARTS TO INTEGRATE, EVEN IF INDIVIDUAL WHITES
DON'T HAVE PERSONAL OR PSYCHOLOGICAL ANIMOSITY
AND RACIAL HATRED, THEY STILL HAVE
AN ECONOMIC INCENTIVE TO LEAVE. BECAUSE THEY RECOGNIZE
THAT OTHERS MIGHT MAKE THE SAME CALCULATION
AND LEAVE FIRST. SO YOU GET A VICIOUS CIRCLE WHERE WHITES CALCULATE THAT
OTHER WHITES ARE GOING TO SELL WHEN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
INTEGRATES, THEREFORE THEY WANT TO
SELL FIRST TO AVOID LOSSES, AND THEY ACTUALLY
MAKE IT HAPPEN, THEY MAKE WHITE FLIGHT HAPPEN. AND IF YOU THINK ABOUT
AFRICAN AMERICANS, IF AFRICAN AMERICANS
ARE 20% OF THAT MARKET, IT MEANS THAT 80% OF THE PEOPLE ARE NOT LOOKING
IN THOSE PLACES FOR HOMES. SO THE PRICES OF THOSE HOMES
DECLINES OR STAYS STABLE. AND BANKS CONTRIBUTE TO THIS BY CONTINUALLY MAKING LOANS IN REGIONS
THAT ARE ON THE RISE, WHITE COMMUNITIES, AND MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO
GET LOANS IN BLACK COMMUNITIES. SO THERE'S A DIFFERENCE,
THERE'S A LACK OF SYMMETRY THAT'S IMPORTANT
TO KEEP IN MIND. SO IT'S NOT THE SAME
WHEN WHITES ARE BY THEMSELVES. BECAUSE WHEN THEY ARE
BY THEMSELVES, THEY'RE TAKING
ALL THE RESOURCES WITH THEM. THEY'RE TAKING ALL
THE AMENITIES WITH THEM. BUT WHEN BLACKS
ARE BY THEMSELVES, THEY CAN'T GET LOANS, THEY DON'T HAVE
A DECENT TAX BASE, THERE ARE NO JOBS. AND THEN THAT BECOMES ASSOCIATED
WITH BLACK SPACE. Narrator: IN THE END, WHAT HAPPENED TO ROOSEVELT
HAPPENS IN MANY NEIGHBORHOODS WHEN WHITE FAMILIES
AND BUSINESSES FLEE. THE TAX BASE ERODED. SCHOOLS AND SERVICES DECLINED. THE TOWN WAS SEEN
BY COUNTY OFFICIALS AS A LEGITIMATE DUMPING GROUND
FOR WELFARE FAMILIES. Powell: AT ONE POINT
WE HAD EXPLICIT LAWS THAT SAYS WHITES ARE ON TOP
AND BLACKS ARE ON THE BOTTOM. TODAY WE HAVE
MANY OF THE SAME PRACTICES WITHOUT THE EXPLICIT LANGUAGE. AND THOSE PRACTICES ARE LARGELY
INSCRIBED IN GEOGRAPHY. AND SO GEOGRAPHY DOES THE WORK
OF JIM CROW LAWS. SO, MANY PEOPLE ARE CONFUSED, AS WHY AFTER 50 YEARS
OF CIVIL RIGHTS ARE OUR SCHOOLS
STILL SEGREGATED, WHY ARE HOUSING
MARKETS STILL SEGREGATED, WHY ARE OUR JOBS
STILL SEGREGATED? AND AGAIN, A LOT OF THIS
IS A FUNCTION OF HOW WE'VE RE-INSCRIBED THE RACIAL GEOGRAPHIC SPACE
IN THE UNITED STATES. THAT STRUCTURE IS STILL WHAT WE'RE LIVING WITH TODAY. Narrator:
AS HOMES IN WHITE COMMUNITIES APPRECIATED IN VALUE, THE NET WORTH
OF THESE WHITE FAMILIES GREW. FOR MOST NON-WHITE FAMILIES WHO STAYED
IN URBAN NEIGHBORHOODS, THE HOUSING MARKET OPEN TO THEM
IN THE '50s AND '60s WAS LARGELY A RENTAL MARKET. YOU DON'T GAIN EQUITY
BY PAYING RENT. Conley: WHERE ONE'S FAMILY
LIVES IN AMERICA IS NOT JUST A MATTER
OF TASTE AND PREFERENCE. YOU HAVE THE ISSUE
OF HOUSING AND WEALTH. THE MAJORITY OF AMERICANS HOLD MOST OF THEIR WEALTH
IN THE FORM OF HOME EQUITY. SO, THAT'S THEIR NEST EGG, THAT'S HOW THEY CAN FINANCE THE EDUCATION
OF THEIR OFFSPRING. THAT'S HOW THEY CAN
SORT OF SAVE UP FOR RETIREMENT. IT'S THEIR SAVINGS BANK, RIGHT, THEY'RE LIVING
IN THEIR SAVINGS BANK. Powell: MY FAMILY,
LIKE A LOT OF FAMILIES, WAS IN DETROIT,
STRUGGLING TO BUY A HOUSE. YOU HAD A DUAL HOUSING MARKET,
ONE WHITE, ONE BLACK. A HOUSING MARKET WITH ONE
WITH A LOT OF DEMAND, ANOTHER HOUSING MARKET
WITH VERY LITTLE DEMAND. MY FATHER LIVES IN THE HOUSE
THAT I GREW UP IN. THAT HOUSE TODAY,
FIVE-BEDROOM HOUSE, IS WORTH ABOUT $20,000. THAT SAME HOUSE
BOUGHT IN THE SUBURBS WOULD BE WORTH TODAY
ABOUT $320,000. SO WHITES MOVING TO THE SUBURB WERE BEING SUBSIDIZED
IN THE ACCUMULATION OF WEALTH, WHILE BLACKS
WERE BEING DIVESTED. AND THESE WERE
PUBLIC POLICY DECISIONS IN WHICH ON ONE HAND PEOPLE WERE GIVEN ACCESS
TO PROPERTY, GIVEN TITLE, AND SUBSEQUENTLY, WEALTH, AND ON ANOTHER HAND, WHERE PEOPLE WERE
NOT GIVEN ACCESS TO PROPERTY, DID NOT GENERATE WEALTH, AND DID NOT GENERATE
THE KIND OF OPPORTUNITY FOR THE NEXT GENERATION. SO IF YOU CAN GET
A GOVERNMENT LOAN WITH YOUR G.I. BILL, YOUR NEWLY EARNED COLLEGE DEGREE AND BUY A HOUSE
IN AN ALL-WHITE AREA, THAT THEN APPRECIATES IN VALUE THAT THEN YOU CAN
PASS ON TO YOUR CHILDREN, THEN YOU'RE PASSING ON WEALTH THAT HAS ALL BEEN MADE
MORE AVAILABLE TO YOU AS A CONSEQUENCE OF
RACIST POLICIES AND PRACTICES. TO THE CHILD OF THAT PARENT, IT LOOKS LIKE MY FATHER
WORKED HARD, BOUGHT A HOUSE, PASSED HIS WEALTH ON TO ME, MADE IT POSSIBLE
FOR ME TO GO TO SCHOOL, MORTGAGED THAT HOUSE
SO I COULD HAVE, YOU KNOW, A RELATIVELY
DEBT-FREE COLLEGE EXPERIENCE AND HAS FINANCED
MY COLLEGE EDUCATION. HOW COME
YOUR FATHER DIDN'T DO THAT? YOU KNOW, WELL, THERE ARE SOME GOOD REASONS
WHY MAYBE YOUR FATHER HAD A HARDER TIME DOING IT
IF YOU'RE AFRICAN AMERICAN OR LATINO OR NATIVE AMERICAN. Powell:
AND THE THING THAT'S REALLY SLICK ABOUT WHITENESS,
IF YOU WILL, IS THAT MOST OF THE BENEFITS CAN BE OBTAINED WITHOUT
EVER DOING ANYTHING PERSONALLY. FOR WHITES, THEY'RE GETTING
THE SPOILS OF A RACIST SYSTEM, EVEN IF THEY'RE NOT
PERSONALLY RACIST. Narrator: TO GLIMPSE ONE OF
THE FAR-REACHING CONSEQUENCES OF RACIAL INEQUALITY, YOU NEED ONLY CONSIDER
ONE STATISTIC -- COMPARATIVE NET WORTH OR WEALTH. IF YOU ADD UP EVERYTHING YOU OWN AND SUBTRACT ALL YOUR DEBTS, WHAT'S LEFT IS YOUR NET WORTH. TODAY, THE AVERAGE BLACK FAMILY HAS ONLY 1/8th THE NET WORTH OR ASSETS
OF THE AVERAGE WHITE FAMILY. THAT DIFFERENCE HAS
SEEMINGLY GROWN SINCE THE 1960s, SINCE THE CIVIL RIGHTS TRIUMPHS, AND IT'S NOT EXPLAINED
BY OTHER FACTORS, LIKE EDUCATION,
EARNINGS RATES, SAVINGS RATES. IT IS REALLY THE LEGACY OF RACIAL INEQUALITY
FROM GENERATIONS PAST. NO OTHER MEASURE
CAPTURES THE LEGACY, THIS SORT OF CUMULATIVE
DISADVANTAGE OF RACE, OR CUMULATIVE ADVANTAGE
OF RACE FOR WHITES, THAN NET WORTH OR WEALTH. Narrator:
EVEN WITH THE SAME INCOME, WHITE FAMILIES HAVE ON AVERAGE TWICE THE WEALTH
OF BLACK FAMILIES. MUCH OF THAT DIFFERENCE LIES IN THE VALUE OF THEIR HOMES. BUT WHAT HAPPENS
WHEN WE COMPARE FAMILIES ALONG THE COLOR LINE
WHO HAVE SIMILAR WEALTH? Conley: WHEN YOU MAKE
THE RIGHT COMPARISON, WHEN YOU COMPARE
A BLACK KID FROM A FAMILY WITH THE SAME INCOME
AND WEALTH LEVEL AS THE WHITE KID FROM THE SIMILAR
ECONOMIC SITUATION, RATES OF COLLEGE GRADUATION
ARE THE SAME. RATES OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORK HOURS ARE THE SAME. RATES OF WELFARE USAGE
ARE THE SAME. SO, WHEN WE'RE
TALKING ABOUT RACE IN TERMS OF A CULTURAL
ACCOUNTING OF THESE DIFFERENCES OR A GENETIC ACCOUNTING
OF THESE DIFFERENCES, WE'RE REALLY
MISSING THE PICTURE, BECAUSE WE'RE MAKING
THE WRONG COMPARISON. Narrator: WE WANT TO BE
A COLORBLIND SOCIETY THAT VALUES
THE CONTENT OF CHARACTER OVER THE COLOR OF SKIN. THE HOPE OF THOUSANDS OF
NEWCOMERS WHO ARRIVE EACH YEAR IS THAT WE ALREADY ARE. Woman: TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC... Narrator: "I DON'T SEE COLOR,
I SEE PEOPLE," THE SAYING GOES. Man: THERE ARE PEOPLE
FROM 100 OTHER NATIONS WHO LOOK DIFFERENT FROM YOU. PEOPLE WHOSE RELIGION,
HISTORY, SKIN COLOR, AND REASON FOR BEING HERE TODAY MAY BE DIFFERENT FROM YOURS. Narrator: BUT IN
POST CIVIL RIGHTS AMERICA, IS COLORBLINDNESS
THE SAME AS EQUALITY? Bonilla-Silva:
THE NOTION OF COLORBLINDNESS CAME TO US FROM THAT FAMOUS "I HAVE A DREAM" SPEECH
OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING WHERE HE SAID THAT PEOPLE SHOULD BE JUDGED BY
THE CONTENT OF THEIR CHARACTER AND NOT BY
THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN. AND WHAT HAS HAPPENED
IN THE POST CIVIL RIGHTS ERA IS THAT WHITES HAVE ASSUMED THAT WE'RE ALREADY THERE,
THAT WE'RE IN A SOCIETY WHERE COLOR DOES NOT MATTER. Conley: ON THE ONE HAND, THE CIVIL RIGHTS ERA
OFFICIALLY ENDED INEQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY, OFFICIALLY ENDED
DE JURE LEGAL INEQUALITY. AT THE SAME TIME,
THOSE CIVIL RIGHTS TRIUMPHS DID NOTHING TO ADDRESS
THE UNDERLYING ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL INEQUALITIES
THAT HAD ALREADY BEEN IN PLACE. DOESN'T RECOGNIZE THE FACT THAT THE REWARDS, THE HOUSE, THE LEXUS, THE BIG BANK ACCOUNT, THOSE ARE NOT ONLY THE REWARDS, OR THE POT OF GOLD
AT THE END OF THE GAME, THEY'RE ALSO
THE STARTING POSITION FOR THE NEXT GENERATION. Narrator:
THE WEALTH GAP GROWS. THE ADVANTAGES
OF BEING WHITE ACCUMULATE FROM ONE GENERATION TO THE NEXT. Tatum: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS
OR THE ADVANTAGES TO BEING WHITE IN A SOCIETY
THAT HAS HISTORICALLY GIVEN BENEFITS AND ADVANTAGES TO MEMBERS
OF THE DOMINANT GROUP? AND IF YOU ARE A PERSON
WHO HAS THAT PRIVILEGE, YOU DON'T NECESSARILY NOTICE IT. Conley: SO UNTIL WE RECOGNIZE
THAT THERE'S REALLY NO WAY TO TALK ABOUT
EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY WITHOUT TALKING
ABOUT EQUALITY OF CONDITION, THEN WE'RE STUCK WITH
THIS PARADOXICAL IDEA OF A COLORBLIND SOCIETY IN A SOCIETY
THAT'S TOTALLY UNEQUAL BY COLOR. Narrator:
CLAIMING WE DON'T SEE RACE WON'T END RACIAL INEQUALITY. AS SUPREME COURT JUSTICE
HARRY BLACKMUN SAID, "TO GET BEYOND RACISM "WE MUST FIRST
TAKE ACCOUNT OF RACE. THERE IS NO OTHER WAY." AND JUST AS WE'RE BORN
INTO THE SYSTEM, WE DON'T ASK TO BE LOADED UP
WITH STEREOTYPES OR OMISSIONS OR DISTORTIONS
WHEN WE COME INTO THE WORLD. WE DON'T ASK TO BE
IN A STRUCTURE WHICH IS UNFAIR, BUT THAT'S WHAT
WE HAVE INHERITED. WHETHER YOU IDENTIFY AS
A PERSON OF COLOR, WHETHER YOU IDENTIFY
AS A WHITE PERSON, IT DOESN'T MATTER. I THINK
WE HAVE TO BE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THE PRESENT
RACIAL ARRANGEMENT. IN A SENSE I THINK WE HAVE TO BE
WILING TO BE UNCOMFORTABLE, WILLING TO DEMAND
MORE OF OURSELVES AND MORE OF OUR COUNTRY... AND WILLING TO MAKE
THE INVISIBLE VISIBLE. Tatum: I THINK WE ALL
HAVE TO THINK ABOUT WHAT CAN I INFLUENCE? I DON'T INFLUENCE EVERYTHING,
BUT THE THINGS I DO INFLUENCE I CAN THINK ABOUT HOW AM I MAKING THIS
A MORE EQUITABLE ENVIRONMENT? I CAN ASK MYSELF, WHO'S INCLUDED IN THIS PICTURE
AND WHO ISN'T? WHO'S HAD OPPORTUNITIES
IN MY ENVIRONMENT AND WHO HASN'T? WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT THAT?
