Wednesday, April 21st , 1999

Announcements: Final Papers due Friday April 23rd

Lecture notes:
The Making of Harlem cont'd
III.  Making of Harlem
    A.  Early 1800's:  91 white families lived in rural Harlem
    B.  Late 1800's:
        1.  Elevated railroad built from NYC to Harlem
        2.  Speculation Boom
        3.  Harlem is an upper and upper middle class area
        4.  The subway is put in and more land speculation occurs
            a.  the second speculation is a bust and the realtors are losing money
            b.  decide to rent to African Americans

IV.  Rent Conditions for African Americans
    A.  New York is a closed city, meaning that no blacks were allowed to rent/own property within the city limits
    B.  Homes in Harlem are subdivided and become apartments for the African Americans
    C.  Limited second generation migration out of Harlem
    D.  Over population, deteriorating services, rising crime
        1.  As population increases, living conditions decrease
        2.  As population increases rent increases
        3.  As population increases, health and public services decrease
        4.  At one point, there were approximately 50,000 people per square mile

V.  Housing and the American Dream
    A.  Zoning ordinances
        1.  Block by block segregation of races
        2.  Outlawed in 1917
    B.  Restrictive Covenants
        1.  Written agreement between buyer and seller saying not to rent/sell to certain racial or religious groups
        2.  Outlawed in 1948, but gotten around by the Realtor's Code of Ethics
        3.  In 1962, only 2% of home mortgage went to Blacks
            a.  Civil Rights Act
            b.  Fair Housing Laws
    C.  Realtor's Codes
        1.  Codes that excluded blacks and other groups from owning land in certain areas
        2.  Ex:  Never be instrumental when showing a house/land in introducing any race or ethnic groups into a neighborhood
        if they are not already there
    D.  Financial Institutions Loan Procedures
        1.  Blacks had a higher interest rate
        2.  Some banks would not loan to African Americans
    E.  Home ownership is the principal means of capital accumulation for low and middle income families in the 20th century
        1.  Blacks being restricted from owning homes because of their race