Housing
The middle class was grown through home ownership following WW2. The 15 and 30 year mortgages with 20% downpayment versus previous 50% down were created along with favorable tax policy and the GI bill. Home ownership rose from 45% to over 65%. Now it is almost 75% for whites.
Blacks were extensively excluded through federal policies such as real estate redlining and contract sales. Subprime loans disproportionately targeted blacks, and loan discrimination continued until after the 1968 Fair Housing Act. An estimated 2.1 million Black GI’s were excluded from the 1944 GI bill which promoted VA home loans.
Middle Class New Deal, A Mechele Dickerson
Blacks are 14% of population but 40% of the homeless
Homelessness is driven by economic hardship, health issues and social factors such as breakdown of the family and lack of affordable housing.
