History of White Flight in Dayton Emma Bohaboy Sociology 339 Advisor: Danielle Rhubart, Ph.D

The History of White Flight in Dayton Emma Bohaboy Sociology 339 Advisor: Danielle Rhubart, Ph.D. “When I started High School in 1953, I was one of 1,250 students Black or African American entering Roosevelt High Population in Dayton WHITE FLIGHT RED LINING School…When I graduated four process where African phenomenon that became popular in the mid 1950’s years later, there were 350 Americans or blacks were where white families moved out of inner cities and into students in the class. When I denied housing in certain the suburbs. Black families were unable to do the same entered, 90% of the high school areas. There were areas in due to discriminatory policies and practices. was white and four years later it a city that were “zoned” for black families and they was 90% of the students were could only purchase black” housing in those Bill Johnson, Facing designated areas. Project Narrative: BLOCK BUSTING “Through Life’s Changes, 1950 scare tactic used by relators God Provides” JIM CROW to convince white families to discriminatory policies move out when black families Dayton rd that were put in place to moved in around them. • According to Buknell.edu, Dayton is the 3 most ensure racial segregation Relators convinced families segregated city in the US, largely due to suburb after the abolition of that their property value zoning policies in cities, such as Kettering. slavery. After Jim Crow would decrease if they stayed • The addition of I-75 caused a very literal 1970 was abolished, there were due to the increasing separation of resources and separation of races. other “colorblind” polices population of blacks in the put in place to continue area. Why should we care? racial discrimination. • Many businesses and jobs moved out of the inner cities with the white population. • White flight caused for the predominantly black population who were left living in the inner cities to be References 1980 • Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of isolated from essential resources, and many still are Colorblindness. Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, 2011. to this day. • Burkhardt, Tom, et al. “‘Through Life's Changes, God Provides.’” Facing Project Narratives, University of Dayton. Why do we still see effects of white flight in Dayton • Iceland, John. Poverty in America: a Handbook. University of California Press, 2013. today? • McNamee, Stephen J, and Robert K Miller. The Meritocracy Myth . third • The three main contributors to white flight (as shown above) ed., Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, INC., 2014. have left lingering effects on Dayton’s population, causing it • Sherwood, Emily S. “Coloring the Gem City: Redlining and the Legacy of to still be largely racially segregated. Discriminatory Housing in Dayton Ohio...” Bucknell.edu , Bucknell.edu , 25 2016 White population Sept. 2015. • A possible solution for lingering effects could be decreases over • “US Demography 1790 to Present .” Social Explorer, implementing programs to help end concentrated poverty time. www.socialexplorer.com/. and help areas affected by food deserts in the city of Dayton.