St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1957-10-18
Northern Negroes Struggle Against chsffO'
Second Rowan POST
Article Describes Negroes
Fight For Housing
BY Carl r. Rowan In October 10,
SATURDAY EVENING POST

gnn IN OctoDer H.
EVENING POST
Negro families are fundamentally
rooted In social Isolation. supported
BY segregation practices In housing
education. Industry, recreation and
cultural living 80. A. long AZ seq
rsgatlon IL practieed in the north
ern urban community, there Will
continue 70 be problems OF behavior
among those who are segregat-
ed.
In great Northern cities, where
these problems OF behavior on the
part Of rapidly growing Negro
populations could become a tragic
brake on civic progress found
most city officials either denying
or ignoring the existence Of racial
segregation.
The problem OF school segrega-
ton exists In every Northern city
with a sizeable Negro population.
In most cities, however, minority
groups have aimed their major at
tack on housing. even though they
realize that II Is the area OF great
est resistance. and, at the same
time. the area imposing the sever
est threat OF violent conflict. The
Negro Is making the transition
from sharecropper 10 city dweller;
he has a foot inside the door OF
industry; he has won the fight
against segregation In the armed
forces. but when II comes TO buy
ing shelter in a neighborhood Of
his choice the Negro has made
woefully little progress.
In Los Angeles, Detroit and
even in cities like Minneapolis,
which are getting only the over
flow OF Negroes pouring into
larger cities. housing Is the Me-
gro's most critical need. Negro
leaders in .Ahese places say that
they are concentrating on housing
because the location OF a home
determines not only the school
that children win attend. but their
chances OF escaping the web Of
delinquency and violence.
Detroit Frightening Example
Struggling desperately for land
and for the financial backing nee
essary for them 90 secure shelter
outside slums or communities
literally bursting at the seams,
these colored Americans concede
that they face tedious bitter
battle, Detroit is a frightening eN-
ample OF the tensions and bitter
ncsses that can arise In city
where thousands OF newcomers
move In to find themselves hem
med In by customs OF residential
segregation. Inside horseshoe
boulevard. tanning out from the
water front, Is the black belt,
which also happens to be the core
OF metropolitan Detroit. This sep
arate little Negro world also Is
the area OF blight and slums, the
remains OF a city threatening to
decay from the inside while those
who might do something about II
are fleeing TO the suburbs Inside
this horseshoe boulevard are ugly
drab schools that are by any
measure the worst In the city.
Here you find iunkyards splat-
tered In the midst OF residential
areas occupied by Negroes who
have neither the know-how nor
the political pun to secure en-.
forcement Of the coming ordin-
ances, Inside the patches OF ugly
atAA'NHT ANNaN VI NlA'lN NNANlNNN
with Torrent" signs, you see
kerosene burners tucked into the
corners OF dark. dismal rooms.
You sense the musty smell OF
urine You hear parents talk OF
their children being bitten by
rats. There are at least $4,000 Of
these wretchcd structures in De
troit. and three tourths OF them
are occupied by Negroes,
Worse Each Year
Each year the situation worsens.
II all the new housing being built
In the Detroit area this year were
made available 20 Negroes Il
would be insufficient to meet their
demands. Forty thousand dwelling
units. on an average, are con
structed annually Tor private sale
In the Detroit area. and fewer
than 400 are available 10 Negro
families Between 1880 and 1886
about lTS,O00 new homes were
constructed in Detroit suburbs
Negroes were permitted to pur,
chase about $50, most OF these In
a Negro community,
Detroit is woman with a
Northern dress on and Southern
slip showing" commented n Ne
gro social worker.
Not To Ne shown
In Los Angeles the situation Is
much the same. In most Northern
communities. white real-estat,
dealers insis; that they are not
prejudieed, but the public Is. But
In Los Angeles real-eState mer
circulate notices OF houses for sal,
on a multiple-usting basis with
bold notations such as: PLEASE
SHOW TO CAUCAsIANs ONLY
or. NOT TO BE SHOWN TC
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