Suburban Segregation: The Battle for Racial Equality in Levittown

The Foundation of Segregation in Levittown

Originally, the Levitts’ racist policy was enshrined in the lease itself, which stipulated that “the tenant agrees not to permit the premises to be used or occupied by any person other than members of the Caucasian race.”

Although that provision was later struck down in court as unconstitutional, Bill Levitt continued to enforce racial homogeneity in practice by rejecting prospective Black buyers.

Activism and the NAACP Lawsuit

Activist groups across the U.S., and even individuals within Levittown who united under the Committee to End Discrimination in Levittown, protested the Levitts’ racist policies.

In 1955, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) sued federal mortgage agencies that had helped future homeowners finance the purchase of homes in the community. The suit was based on the denial of six Black veterans from purchasing homes.

Thurgood Marshall, the lawyer who had successfully argued Brown v. Board of Education, represented the plaintiffs. However, a Philadelphia court dismissed the suit after ruling that the federal agencies were not responsible for preventing housing discrimination.

The Integration of Levittown: The Myers Family

Though the Levitts maintained an unofficial policy not to sell homes to minorities, they could not legally prevent an existing homeowner from reselling their property to Black buyers.

In 1957, William and Daisy Myers, a Black couple with young children, bought a house in Levittown, Pennsylvania, from the former owners. The Myers family immediately faced intense hostility.

Facing Harassment and Threats of Violence

The Myers family endured endless harassment, as well as implicit and explicit threats of violence, from other residents in the community. They received little help from the local police to keep the mobs of angry residents from congregating outside their home day and night.

Through perseverance and courage, the Myers family outlasted their harassers and eventually succeeded in filing criminal charges against the worst members of the mob.

Racial Exclusivity and the Spectre of Communism

The struggle faced by the Myers family was heavily intertwined with the political climate of the Cold War. Members of both sides of the conflict hurled charges of socialism and communism at their opponents.

White residents of Levittown and other segregated communities across the country often referenced their “Americanism” as justification for racial exclusivity. They painted those who sought integration as holding the most un-American of allegiances: communist.

Suburban Charters and Capitalism

The very charters of Levittown and suburbs across America were closely intertwined with the preservation of the capitalist American way in the face of growing Soviet international influence.

Furthermore, government attempts to address the severe housing shortage by launching public housing programs were viciously vilified by right-wing politicians as a form of socialism. Senator Joseph McCarthy himself famously called public housing projects “breeding ground[s] for communists.”