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- There was a steadily growing African-American population in Chicago until the beginning of World War II. At that time a massive surge of migrants arrived from the South. This disrupted the population equilibrium between whites and blacks in the city, setting the scene for the racial tension that would follow 1.
- Blacks were subjected to subpar housing, focused mainly in the deteriorating central business section. In many areas, the large influx of Southern blacks precipitated the "invasion" of African-Americans into other ethnic neighborhoods 2.
- Many of the houses and apartment buildings that were designated for blacks were physically decaying and falling apart, to the extent where families were evicted for their own safety. This can be seen in Native Son, where it states, "There were many empty buildings with black windows, like blind eyes, buildings like skeletons standing with snow on their bones in the winter winds." 3
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Blacks were often forced to live in inferior houses, as seen above. |
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