Legal public housing segregation took a firm stand in the 1950s in the US, where the African American community and the white community could not coexist in one neighborhood.
This move, however, was fought by the African American community in an attempt to end the prevailing patterns of division based on race. By mid 19th century, the slave code dominated the lives of the African American community where segregation deterred them from even holding any public gathering. Soon later, Jim Crows’ reconstructed the laws that still adopted the nature of racial segregation that included barring the slave community from accessing public accommodation such as public transport and work permits (Moeser 2 ). However, it was not until 1911, that Richmond, divided its state based on racial attributes, a move that was adopted after Baltimore did the same.
Using the Virginia’s integrity laws, 1920s saw Richmond zoning out its residents where the White community could not, let alone live in the same neighborhood with the African American community, but the law also barred any interracial engagements including marriages (Moeser 5). As the years progressed, the segregation delved deeper into housing where there were different realtors for both communities and a denial for mortgage for the African American community. The segregation further stretched to schools and many public sectors such as banking where the move saw the black community settling for public schools that were not integrated in terms of race. The Federal Housing Authority (FHA), trapped funds that were generated from the discriminated community and, channeled them to build public accommodation that was later mortgaged to the White people.
The neighborhoods were divided from the east of Richmond with leafy suburbs homes in the Hillside court being mortgaged to the white community. Consequently, the area struggled with poverty as a result of misappropriation of public funds, a problem that the city still suffers from to date. The city also still struggles with equitable distribution of public resources as the segregation continues to happen (Moeser 16). The middle class community, which by far is dominated by the African American community, still struggles to find placement especially in private sectors due to racial stereotyping.
Works Cited John, Moester. Reflection on Segregation in Metro-Richmond Area: Where We Have Been, Where we are Heading. Retrieved on 24th February 2019 from http://homeofva.org/Portals/0/Images/PDF/livetogether-report.pdf