Lara Leitz

The Ongoing Predicament of White Flight

Americans have long boasted their nation was a melting pot, but one cultural phenomenon demonstrates that a more apt metaphor is that of a mixed salad. White flight is when white people move to suburban homes in order to escape the climbing population of minorities in cities. The direct impact is the downfall of funding in those city areas whites move out of which results in ghettos and overall a dearth in city funding. As a result government funding in suburban areas increased and the educational environment whites created for their neighborhoods were superior. At the root of the educational gap between races lies the phenomenon of white flight, which is still prevalent in modern times. The only way to provide fair education to all people regardless of race, is to combat the dearth of funding that occurs from white flight with the proper funding of schools regardless of urban or suburban location.

Racism was born on the foundation of slavery and although black people were freed by the 13th Amendment, freedom from the boundage of underlying racism would be a continuous battle. Overt racism eventually would be suppressed but subtle racism would continue to plague true integration to the present day. White flight is the phenomenon essential borne of this subtle racism. Throughout history there are subtle references to white flight; however, the most prominent recording of white flight happened during the postwar era in the 1940's. Many

Americans had already been moving to the suburbs in order to escape the city atmosphere; however, many began to flock to the "American Dream" neighborhoods sprawling across lush suburban areas. With a booming housing industry, peace, and infrastructure improvement, an appealing path was paved for Americans looking for a quiet life. The construction companies

revolutionized ways of home construction which reduced the time needed to construct them along with the price, yet each house looked very similar. Nevertheless new house mortgages became very affordable; however, an overwhelming amount of people were white and middle­class. Those left in the now vacant inner­city became new neighbors to the

African­Americans moving in from the South. The pattern expanded and the reality of segregation became apparent as the housing market specifically targeting white families for their new suburban homes and created cheaper housing developments in cities meant for minorities

(Kennedy). Therefore, although the 14th Amendment secured the right of property of a citizen regardless of color from the state through the enforcement of white flight blacks were denied the opportunity to secure suburban property.

Source: Evan Bissell, "Painting: 1915­1968 — Rise of the Suburb/Ghetto", The Knotted Line, March 22, 2012.

In a clearly mocking way the "world's highest standard of living" was exclusive to whites which is emphasized in painting by the juxtaposition of tones of blue and white versus tones of brown and color. Underneath the text is a white family consisting of a father, mother, son, daughter, and dog. Each one is smiling as they drive through a suburban setting. The blue shades link the "perfectly" happy white family to the depiction of the sprawling suburban neighborhood.

Each house is in an organized row, and each house looks almost identical along with the roads. A few cars dot the road resembling the same blue shade as the family car above. This was a typical scene of the new suburban neighborhoods typical to the post­war time, as the home­building business was revolutionized and made easy. Blue is a serene color which gives the parts painted in blue a peaceful, uniform look. From this immaculate, organized neighborhood depiction and pristine joyful family the African Americans across the middle of the painting look even more out of place, almost as if they intrude on the peaceful scene. Each African American is wearing a different color, carrying big bags, and looking around almost suspiciously. Clearly, the painting emphasizes how African Americans were not a part of the "world's highest standard of living" and did not belong to the suburban neighborhoods. Being that the painting was adapted from a photo by Margaret Bourke­White depicting Kentucky flood victims in 1937, it only strengthens the concept that the African­Americans are displaced in this painting and in the American suburbs (Bissell). Clearly they are not apart of the prestigious living standards advertised for whites. The painting describes how African­Americans did not feel welcome to move to suburban neighborhoods which seemed to only be advertised for white people.

Nevertheless, although Americans claim that today people are much more tolerant of races white flight is still unfortunately very prevalent today. Therefore, this subtle form of racism still affects African Americans today.

Source: Colin Gordon, "Mapping Decline: St. Louis and the American City 1970­1980", Mapping Decline.

A study done by Colin Gordon shows the effects of white flight on St. Louis from 1940­2010 by mapping the decline and increase of black and white population. A quick snapshot from

1970­1980 shows the dramatic effect of modern white flight on just one city. Clearly there is a significant decrease of the white population by the city. The inner city sees a decrease in black population, while the city itself sees an increase of black population. Correspondingly wherever there are "black" increase zones there are bound to be "red" zones of white decrease. The increase of white population is dominantly outside the city in the suburban counties surrounding it. Moreover, the white population is much more spread out than the clear "black" and "yellow" zones. However, the zones are very distinct which shows just how segregating the effects of

white flight are. Thus, the reality of white flight is whites leave the city for the suburbs corresponding with blacks moving out of the inner city to the city clearly is also a fairly modern issue.

Source: Metropolitan Policy Program of Brookings, "White Gains and Losses in Cities and Suburbs of the 100 Largest Metropolitan Areas", 2000 and 2010 U.S. censuses, July 23, 2015.

Another more recent census gives a view on white flight in the entire United States of America.

The map shows that urban and suburban losses of white populations are concentrated in

California and around New York, and in the middle of the country the white population of cities

and suburbs increases. An overwhelming amount of dots represent city losses and suburb white population gains all spread out throughout the middle of the country. Only three dots show white population city gains and suburb losses. White population movement to the suburbs is quite evident. Interestingly, most of the major cities marked with the yellow dots are a part of the 50th most populous cities in the USA. New York ranks as number one, followed by Los Angeles, and

San Francisco in 22nd (Politifact). Thus, since there are many immigrants within these cities as well, the net white population decrease eludes to the subtle racism shown through white flight.

Although, racism has come a long way, white flight underlies the modern struggle for racial equality.

Source: Tony Auth, retrieved from http://picayune.uclick.com/comics/ta/2004/ta040518.gif , 6 June 2018.

White flight has a significant effect on suburban and city environments. As the white population moves to the suburbs, they tend to bring with them wealth and funding. This, however, leaves cities with vacant funding which tends to lead to an increase of poverty and crime. Moreover, schools are affected as educational funding becomes scarcer in cities. Auth's

political cartoon of a suburban and urban school depicts the effects of white flight on educational environments. The urban school has shattered windows, garbage lying outside, a barbed wire dense, and a shabby door. The entire building seems to be leaning and on the verge of collapse.

The urban school is also inked in darker with more sketch marks making it appear "dirty". The flag that sits upon the school is tattered and drooping almost disappointed by the environment it oversees. On the left hand, a proud, pristine flag overlooks a neat glass building. The school looks modern and is surrounded by trees. Clearly the suburban school is in much better condition than the urban school. The quotation provides more insight on the matter, as it points out that the past problem of how "separate could be equal" still applies to the modern educational environments. White flight caused this and it created a "separate but equal" but clearly not equal educational funding system, as urban schools clearly have much less funding than suburban schools.

Herblock delves deeper on the effects of white flight on the environment of schools as well. The Innercity Public School is surrounded by loose bricks, tall run­down building with cracked walls and windows, and gates. The school seems to be encircled by the buildings with no obvious exit, as if the students of the Innercity school are trapped in the bad environment with no easy way to escape. Similar to how white flight "traps" minorities in urban dwelling; whilst white people can escape to suburban sanctuaries. There is a poster with a bottle and tattered objects scattered throughout the scene.

Source: Herblock,"... One nation...indivisible…", Washington Post, February 22, 1977.

The city environment is shaded in which sets a gloomy and dark tone, which is not ideal for a school. The only light in the bottom scene is the window were a color student is seen seated in class. The student has a shaded in face and hair which suggests he is of a minority race.

Directly above him in almost the same position a white boy sits in his Suburban Height Public

School. The white boy has cleaner clothes on and is seen through a large open window belonging to a clean, organized school surrounded by bushes. The school is clearly a much better learning environment than the city school. The proud American flag waves clearly next to it, but the flag belonging to the inner city school almost seems ashamed or hidden away. America seems to want to hide its "bad part" and instead highlights its "good' part whilst casting a shadow over

degrading city environments. The author shows how the nation is actually divided by the white suburbs and minority cities. The suburban schools have a much better environment than the inner city schools due to money differences caused by white flight. City schools are poorly funded so the minorities are at a disadvantage to the properly funding schools for the white kids living in the suburbs.

Source: Lalo Alcaraz, Unknown Political Cartoon, Universal Press Syndicate, 2004.

This is ironic since in 1954 the Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka the Supreme

Court ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, as Alcaraz quite clearly points out (National Parks Service). However, the ruling allowed prohibited plans for integration to require students to move into different districts, which aided white flight

(Kennedy). White flight allowed for continuous segregation in schools, since the white population was able to fund their suburban schools. The schools left behind with minorities are neglected, as shown in the political cartoon. The school is is ruinous with cracked windows and bricks. It looks a lot like a prison with the barbed wire fence and no other surroundings. Different

hands and feet poking out of the nearly bursting school eludes to the improper size of the school for its majority latino students. Therefore, legally it was said that racial segregation in schools is prohibited; however, white flight has ensured that segregation is still a reality in schools. Since the whites have left and minorities become the majority, the funding for education in that area plummeted and school conditions worsen. Therefore, educational segregation based on race still exists due white flight.

When the government passed the 14th amendment it intended to allow all citizens to be protected by State laws in order for them to secure their rights of life, liberty, and property. The

Constitution itself calls upon the government to provide for the general Welfare. The dearth of educational funding for minorities in urban environments shows the government is not providing for the wealthfare of all its citizen. Instead it allows white flight to favor the education of the white population. States governments have the duty of providing education for their people; however, by not combating the effects of white flight, state governments have failed in providing equal education. Therefore, state governments should ensure that proper funding is given to all schools which will allow for proper education of all races and combat the educational segregation between races.

Works Cited

Bissel, Evan. “The Knotted Line: Gloss: 1915­1968.” Niger Delta Black Gold Blues: Can Writers Bring About Environmental Justice Where Slow Violence Has Proven So Devastating? or A Cautionary Tale for Environmental Sacrifice Zones Worldwide , 17 Apr. 2012, scalar.usc.edu/anvc/the­knotted­line/1915­1968.

“Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service , U.S. Department of the Interior, 7 Feb. 2018, www.nps.gov/brvb/index.htm.

Kennedy, David M., and Lizabeth Cohen. The American Pageant: a History of the American People . Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2013.

“The 50 Largest Cities in the United States.” @Politifact, www.politifact.com/largestcities/.