In 1933, the New Deal offered hope and opportunity to millions of Americans battered and bruised economically by the Great Depression. But not everyone benefitted. While this series of federal programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations helped thousands gain a foothold on the property ladder, it effectively excluded African-American families from buying their own home. Race-based lending rules drawn up by the Federal Housing Association kept black families locked out of suburban neighborhoods, a shameful policy the legacy of which is responsible for much of the racial inequality experienced across the United States today. But why exactly were black Americans banned from settling in suburbia, and what were the repercussions?
Click through and revisit one of the more shameful chapters in American history.