Civil Rights for Some, Stereotyping for Others: Two Views on the Open Housing Movement of the 1960s

The modern Civil Rights Movement in the United States was successful in addressing long-standing inequities in political, economic, and other civil rights for African Americans and prompted similar changes for other minority groups. Yet, one of the unintended consequences of the interpretation of the civil rights legislation enacted by Congress was that the federal government began classifying people by race so as to determine whether they merited protection under the new laws. This article examines the process created by U. S. government agencies to determine whether the new civil rights laws had been violated, the way in which the legislation was interpreted in the judicial system, and the consequences for Americans of Eastern and Southern European heritage.