(Dis)location: Black Exodus

1920s and 30s:

The stock market crash of 1929 sent the U.S. into a steep economic decline. Upon inauguration in 1933, President FDR launched his “New Deal” policy, which was the first time the federal government intervened to combat poverty. However, much of the New Deal programming supported working-poor, white Americans. Due to structural racism, Black Americans faced multiple barriers accessing these same benefits despite the fact that they suffered from the highest rates of unemployment in the country, which was compounded long standing racial violence and social inequality during the Great Depression.
       Part of the New Deal policy was the passage of the National Housing Act of 1934, which established the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). The FHA was designed to help with the homeownership crisis by providing federal funding for underwriting home loans. The FHA utilized redlined maps created by the Home Owner Loan Corporation to discriminate against Black neighborhoods for home loan investment.
       During the Great Depression in San Francisco, longshoremen workers organized the 1934 West Coast Dock Strike and the San Francisco General Strike. Black longshoremen were excluded from jobs, longshoremen workers unions, and were limited to working at just 2 piers in San Francisco. A key to the success of SF General Strike was the unions confronting their racism, working in solidarity with Black workers, and promising that all piers would be open to Black longshoremen.
       Later as part of the New Deal, the federal government passed the Housing Act of 1937 which established public housing. In 1938, the California legislature passed the Housing Authorities Law that allowed cities to create public housing authorities throughout the state. That same year, the Housing Authority of the City and County of San Francisco (San Francisco Housing Authority - SFHA) was established.

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