Knocking on the door : the federal government's attempt to desegregate the suburbs / Christopher Bonastia.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bonastia, Christopher, 1967-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Discrimination in housing--United States--History--20th century.

Discrimination in housing.

Discrimination in housing--Government policy--United States--History--20th century.

Housing policy--United States--History--20th century.

Housing policy.

Affirmative action programs--Government policy--United States--History--20th century.

Affirmative action programs.

Suburbs--United States--History--20th century.

Suburbs.

United States--Politics and government--1969-1974.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (250 p.)

Edition:

Core Textbook

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ ; Woodstock : Princeton University Press, 2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Knocking on the Door is the first book-length work to analyze federal involvement in residential segregation from Reconstruction to the present. Providing a particularly detailed analysis of the period 1968 to 1973, the book examines how the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) attempted to forge elementary changes in segregated residential patterns by opening up the suburbs to groups historically excluded for racial or economic reasons. The door did not shut completely on this possibility until President Richard Nixon took the drastic step of freezing all federal housing funds in January 1973. Knocking on the Door assesses this near-miss in political history, exploring how HUD came surprisingly close to implementing rigorous antidiscrimination policies, and why the agency's efforts were derailed by Nixon. Christopher Bonastia shows how the Nixon years were ripe for federal action to foster residential desegregation. The period was marked by new legislative protections against housing discrimination, unprecedented federal involvement in housing construction, and frequent judicial backing for the actions of civil rights agencies. By comparing housing desegregation policies to civil rights enforcement in employment and education, Bonastia offers an unrivaled account of why civil rights policies diverge so sharply in their ambition and effectiveness.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

List of Abbreviations for Frequently Cited Government Agencies and Commissions

Chapter One. Residential Segregation

Chapter Two. The Divergence of Civil Rights Policies in Housing, Education, and Employment

Chapter Three. The Federal Government and Residential Segregation, 1866-1968

Chapter Four. Conviction and Controversy

Chapter Five. Indirect Attack

Chapter Six. The Recent Past, Present, and Future of Residential Desegregation

List of Abbreviations for Notes

Notes

Works Cited

Index

Notes:

Originally published: 2006.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786612086793

9781282086791

1282086790

9781400827251

1400827256

OCLC:

336651201