St. Paul recorder., 1962-12-14
SegregatiOnists Are
Misusing The Language
Again

1t was predictable that the sniping at President
Kennedys order forbidding discrimination in hous-
ing would take some strange and sometimes fantas-
tic turns
It has.
One of the most ridiculous is the claim that the
order would outlaw the efforts Of builders and de-
velopers now promoting integrated housing by for
bidding the quota system. This Is the misnamed
system by which such builders prevent newly de-
veloped neighborhood from becoming segregated.
They have found that In eastern cities a neighbor-
hood composed of about 80 per cent Negro and TO
per cent white residents will maintain that ratio
the ratio Of Negroes to whites increases substan-
tally the neighborhOod tends to become all-Negro
and the segregation evil Is repeated.
To argue that 1t is discrimination to seek an
optmum ratio in order to attain the ends Of housing
integraton is, Of course ridiculous. 1t Is a charac-
terisc misuse of language and logic by those whose
Illogical position forces them to such tactics.
The principal reason why it became necessary
to establish ratios in the first place the dis
elimination pattern coupled with the fact that there
few developers catering to the housing
needs of the Negro population In the resulting ex-
plosive situation, open-occupancy housing in many
eastern communities was in such demand that every
development could have been sold out at once to
Negro buyers.
As soon as the Presidential order begins to
take effect this kind Of pressure will begin to go
down, and eventually will be In a normal situa-
ton where there need be little about ratios
People will be able to reside where they wish within
the limits Of their means and will not be forced to
the various undesirable eapedents In use to get
housing The ratio system which was actually
forced upon the developers who use it by the I'M
American practices Of the industry generally will
no longer be needed.
In any case, it is piece of ignorance If not a
deliberate fasincaon OF the facts for the opponents
of ntegrated housing to argue that these developers
are practcing discrimination. The most charitable
assumption is that those who argue this way do not
know how the process of developing and selling
houses operates. Every developer makes dozens Of
decisions that affect the ultimate makeup Of the
community he Is working on. Price ranges, financ-
ing arrangements, house design community facin-
ties, all help to determine who will eventually live
in the development So do the activities Of the sales
men, the type of advertising used and where 1t Is
placed, and the folow-ups on prospective buyers. If
these decisions and practices when applied to OBJ
tanning optmum ratio in given community,
to be branded as discrimination then we'd better
start getting definitions the books very
Especially in view Of the evident intention Of
the segregationists to continue to make decisions
and follow practices aimed at prolonging segrega-
ton.
Before this issue is resolved, we can expect all
kinds Of distortions and phony arguments from
opponents. Sometimes they will be quite maddenng.
But the maddening, and the more ridiculous
they are, the better should feel because this Is
confession of defeat the part Of the segregation