Blacks in Greenbelt
Blacks in Greenbelt
Although there were no written rules explicitly stating that blacks were
not to be allowed as residents of Greenbelt, no black families were
selected. Due to the lack of documentation, it is
difficult to determine if
blacks did not apply or if they were not chosen because they did not meet
implicit qualifications regarding class and race. According to Nat
Shinderman, a member of the Board of Directors, which selected
residents
in the 1960s, no black families applied when renters were allowed to apply
to buy the Greenbelt houses. He figures if there was any type of
discrimination, it was based on class, because an interested buyer needed
a lot of money up front to pay for assorted fees for small, inexpensive
houses. The Board selected families based on two criteria (and still
does):
good character
and financial capability.
There was some mild support for the inclusion of black families living in
Greenbelt, but "the idea was never considered politically feasible"
(Form,
63). The simultaneous construction of housing for blacks in nearby
Washington, D.C. convinced officials that housing for blacks in Greenbelt
was unnecessary. Fourteen blacks were considered as residents of
Greenbelt in statistics, although they did not actually live in the town,
but "in outlying farms located on Greenbelt property" (Form, 63).
W.H. Form, who researched Greenbelt and its residents in the 1940s,
observed the black workers perform janitorial duties and the like in the
town. Unlike white workers with similar jobs, the blacks were not greeted
by the townsfolk, received very little compensation, and "no deference"
was "paid to them" (Form, 217). Ironically, it was the mostly black
construction workers who made it possible for these white residents to
live in Greenbelt as can be seen in the Project 3 home page and above (Williamson). Because blacks were at
the bottom of the
social ladder because of existing prejudices and norms, Greenbelters did
not attempt to form any relationships with their black workers, resulting
in
their isolation at work and during their meals. The Greenbelt Cooperative
and local liberals quelled protest among some residents concerning the
black workers buying food in the local stores (Form, 217). When black
visitors toured Greenbelt out of curiosity upon hearing about the
Greenbelt project, local citizens objected to the service of "'colored
people...in the town drugstore'" (Williamson,
79). The council dismissed the complainers' objections and
allowed blacks to receive services in the town despite the rigid
segregation in the county (Rogers,77). The
local theater also rejected the showing of the popular film, "Birth of a
Nation", which portrayed blacks as dangerous, wild, and evil animals in
1939.
Form's interviews with Greenbelt residents illustrated that blacks were
not welcomed. "Even a self-styled 'liberal' said, 'Negroes wouldn't be
happy here. They should have communities just like this, but it would do
no one any good to mix them here'"(Form, 218). A small minority of
Greenbelters felt that residency should not have been restricted by class
or race, although most of the Greenbelters were anti-black, an attitude
which reflected a majority of white America at that time. Up until late
this
century, much of suburbia was designed for a certain race and class,
particularly
the white middle class (and above). Greenbelt was no different.
Nonetheless, Greenbelt made conscious efforts to desegregate as Carlos
Delasobera found out. Their Fair Housing Movement and campaigns
allowed for eventual integration in Greenbelt. Unlike many
communities that were forced to integrate by law, Greenbelt worked
together to make integration possible and did so
because its citizens felt it was necessary to do so.
Michelle Sit
HONR 159J