Shame of Chicago, Shame of the Nation

While the white middle class was rapidly expanding and benefiting from federal policies that promoted their home equity, Black families were forced to purchase residences via contract sales, paying premiums for homes that they could lose after missing just a single payment. This episode explores the devastating impact that these contracts had on Black wealth-building and racial comity in Chicago, and their role in jumpstarting a wealth gap that continued to widen as white affluence grew

In the early 20th century, Chicago realtors claimed that Black residents devalued white neighborhoods, leading to violence and intimidation against Black families who moved in. When force failed, realtors pushed restrictive covenants to legally block sales to Black buyers. These practices reduced overt violence and spread to other cities. During the Great Depression, with many mortgages at risk, the federal government relied on these same realtors to shape housing policy. Their input guided the FHA and HOLC, embedding redlining into national policy and denying Black communities access to loans and investment, reinforcing housing segregation for generations.

Efforts to create integrated public housing in mid-20th century America were derailed by political and economic forces. As mayors, real estate firms, and white homeowners resisted integration, public housing became a tool for segregation, leading to high-density, poorly built developments for Black residents, cut off from the opportunities and subsidies driving suburban prosperity.

An interracial group of working-class homeowners on Chicago’s West Side takes on predatory realtors and redlining, pushing their fight to the halls of power in Washington, D.C. Their efforts lead to groundbreaking legislation and inspire a broader movement for justice. The episode highlights the vision and persistence of organizers working to heal Black communities and confront the enduring legacy of housing segregation and the racial wealth gap.