THEY CHASED the GLOOM PEDDLERS out of
MARYNOOK NAOMI BRODKEY (December 15, 1963)
L
AST FEBRUARY, in a pleasant middle-class neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, a young white family purchased a home next door to Negroes. This event was not particularly unusual in Marynook, where a pattern of interracial living is evolving with extraordinary success. In fact, Marynook’s experience may demonstrate a solution to one of the most pressing urban problems facing the country. Marynook, a community of 423 single-family homes, was built nine years ago. It occupies some 12 blocks, with suburban-type winding streets and ranch and split-level homes, priced in the $20,000’s. Its location well within the city made it very attractive to Chicagoans who wanted to buy a house but who were loath to move away from the conveniences of city living. While Marynook began as an all-white community, it nonetheless had a population well-diversified in other respects. Catholics, Protestants and Jews were evenly represented. Age levels were varied, though a majority of residents were typically young families with young children. Education and income levels were fairly high: Half of the original residents had had some college education, and the average income in 1957 was $10,400. Since Marynook is close to the campus of the University of Chicago, faculty families were among the first residents. Many came from Hyde Park, the university neighborhood and one of the most heterogeneous in the city, and brought to Marynook an acceptance of diversification. At the time that Marynook was built, the Negro “ghetto” extended to within eight blocks of its boundaries. Chicago, like many other large Northern cities, has been characterized by highly segregated housing patterns. The principal Negro “ghetto,” a contiguous strip extending down the South Side of the city, has been slowly expanding on a block-by-block basis. The pattern has been that when one or two Negro families move into a previously all-white block, the white residents, fearful of being isolated in an all-Negro block, immediately sell their houses, often at reduced prices. The same pattern is repeated on the next block. So “integration” in Chicago has usually meant the time from the appearance of the first Negro until the disappearance of the last white. While Marynook’s developer had no interest in establishing an interracial community, he inadvertently made it possible for Marynook to become one by establishing the Marynook Homeowners’ Association, and requiring membership in the Association, with dues as part of the purchase agreement. Marynook was divided into districts, each district electing two representatives to the board of directors. NAOMI BRODKEY is a Chicago housewife interested in civic affairs, particularly Chicago School Board activities, and has previously written for NEW CITY on the public-school crisis (December 15, 1963).
It has been this Association, more than any other single factor, which has enabled Marynook to maintain itself as an interracial community. The Association soon came to realize that its position should be very different from that taken by more typical improvement associations which often exist only as “keep-’em-out” organizations. And so, several years before the first Negro moved in, this eventuality was discussed in meetings and in the monthly bulletin distributed by the Association to every home in Marynook. These early efforts were aimed not at encouraging integration, but at making Marynook see that integration was a possibility which needed honest and serious consideration, rather than one which would go away if ignored. There was, of course, a spectrum of opinion among Marynook residents, ranging from those who felt the Association should be actively working to prevent Negroes from moving in to a few who felt that they themselves would work toward moving a Negro family into Marynook. This group believed that a selected move-in would be the best introduction to the inevitability of integrated living. On reflection, however, they concluded that “Marynook isn’t ready for integration.” In retrospect, one can perhaps say that no community will say that it is ready for integration until after the fact. As any resident of a “changing” neighborhood knows, there appears to be a time prior to the entrance of the first Negro into the community during which it is virtually impossible to sell a house. The factors accounting for this appear to be the unwillingness of whites to buy into the neighborhood, since they are uncertain of its future. During this “standoff” period, Marynook residents who had to leave the community resolved their dilemma by renting their houses, while the rest of Marynook watched with alarm the rapid and virtually total changeover from white to Negro of an apartment area just to its west. This period of inactivity came to an abrupt end in the spring of 1962, when two homes were sold to Negroes. Both homes were sold directly by the owners. It was difficult for Marynook residents to realize that what they had been discussing and worrying about for two years was actually coming to pass. Tensions ran high, even with the community already well prepared for what was happening. But, while there was considerable uncertainty about the future, violence and active opposition were conspicuously absent. The only active resistance came from outsiders who offered to buy one of the homes if the seller would reconsider his decision. He refused, and both Negro families moved in quietly
during April of 1962. Other than over-the-back-fence gossip, there was little activity during the first few months of “integration” in Marynook. Several homes were immediately put up for sale, and rumors flew fast and furiously as to who was staying and who leaving. Block meetings were held as usual in the spring to elect new delegates to the board of directors, and even here it was apparent that the community was, to an extent, demoralized and apprehensive.
AT THIS point a significant meeting was held in
the community. Marynook had for some time been a member of the South East Community Organization, a federation of neighborhood associations, business and religious organizations. At the request of SECO’s executive director, three of the community leaders of Kenwood (an area next to Hyde Park which had succeeded in overcoming similar problems) spoke to a group of Marynook women who were active in community, church and civic organizations. The “Kenwood Ladies,” as they came to be called, revitalized a group uncertain of what it could or ought to do. Their advice was essentially twofold: Don’t waste time arguing with Marynook residents whose houses are for sale, they’re no asset anyway; spread the word outside the area to potential buyers who may not know of the many advantages Marynook offers. Marynook will have to sell itself to the white market, they continued, particularly since real estate brokers will not do the job for you. One result of this session was that positive thinking reasserted itself. Marynook, immersed in its problems, had been ignoring its assets. It was still the same attractive, well maintained and conveniently located community it always had been. In addition, the Marynook Homeowners’ Association was available and could be put to good use. The Real Estate Committee of the Homeowners’ Association, which heretofore had confined its efforts to keeping count of the homes for sale and for rent, began its first tentative steps in establishing a program to maintain Marynook as an interracial community by attracting new white families to the area. A new survey was made to determine which homes were for sale and which for rent. Fortified by an allocation of $1,000 from the Marynook Homeowners’ Association, the committee placed several ads in suburban newspapers and club publications. In addition, Marynook residents were encouraged to inform the committee of any friends
and acquaintances who could be interested in buying a house in the community. For the Real Estate Committee a problem arose: how to explain the position of the Marynook Homeowners’ Association so that whites as well as Negroes would understand that it was motivated by a genuine desire to achieve a stable interracial community. It required careful phrasing, often achieved through trial and error, to explain both to Marynook and to outsiders that in actively seeking white buyers the community had no intention of discriminating against Negroes, but rather wanted to balance the picture. By the spring of 1963, 18 homes in Marynook had been sold to whites and 56 to Negroes. During the previous summer an art fair and home tour were held, which were not only useful in publicizing Marynook to outsiders, but were social attractions and morale boosters for Marynook residents. That summer had also seen Marynook become aware of the pressures that unscrupulous real estate dealers can bring to bear on newly integrated areas. “Panic peddlers” (real estate brokers who try to induce sales by exploiting fear of racial change) not only deluged residents with telephone calls and mail solicitations, but also went from door to door to persuade owners to sell their houses. By and large these tactics were met with resentment. The Homeowners’ Association and the South East Community Organization both had warned the community in advance of panic-peddling tactics and encouraged residents to report any such brokers so that appropriate action could be taken. One of the most blatant examples of panic-peddler approaches was a mailing sent to all Marynook residents which began, “Don’t panic—the move is on! Your neighborhood is changing, slowly but surely.” In this instance, a protest was filed with the Illinois Department of Registration and Education, and the broker was threatened with the loss of his license. By the end of the summer, this type of solicitation had virtually ceased in Marynook. Through a process of trial and error, the Real Estate Committee discovered which techniques were the most successful in attracting new buyers. A letter describing Marynook was mailed early in 1963 to all residents of Prairie Shores, a highly successful interracial apartment development. This mailing turned up several prospective buyers, and at this point the committee found that it was necessary to establish a procedure for showing homes. Tours were set up for each prospective buyer and introductions were made to Marynook residents who could describe the community and answer questions.
Constant reminders in the Association’s bulletin and at meetings, asking residents to let the committee know when houses were available, made it possible to maintain an accurate listing of homes for sale. A new mailing, directed to the faculty and staff of the University of Chicago and including a picture flyer, proved to be the most successful effort of the Real Estate Committee. Similar mailings, all composed by Marynook residents, were sent to other academic institutions in the city. All this time, personal contacts supplemented these efforts of publicizing Marynook through advertising and letter writing. Direct personal relationships have been at least as important in bringing newcomers to the community as the publicity campaign of the Homeowners’ Association. One of the fears that people often have of integrated living is that it will result in the decline of city services and that the neighborhood will subsequently deteriorate. Marynook has had, since its inception, a set of legally enforceable covenants establishing building and use restrictions designed to maintain substantial single-family homes. These covenants helped assure Marynook residents that their community would always be well kept. At least one resident has said that while he was not especially delighted to be part of an interracial community, he knew his investment was protected by these covenants, and he therefore has no intention of leaving. City services (schools, police protection, and garbage disposal) were also of concern to Marynook. When it was demonstrated that these services were not deteriorating, residents were heartened and encouraged. Other community institutions ( churches, libraries, the local YMCA and the nearby Jewish Community Center) have all continued to expand and have played an important part in helping to maintain a stable neighborhood.
HAVING gone through many crises in the history
of their community, many Marynook residents have become unusually close. Friendships have ripened and expanded over the years, and these relationships have begun to cross racial lines. The Homeowners’ Association, not only at its monthly meetings, but also through block meetings, committee meetings, square dances, dinner-dances, and other activities, has helped to encourage a unity of spirit. Other groups such as the PTA, the League of Women Voters, play-school groups, car pools and the like have played their parts. There is no compulsion
towards “togetherness,” however; there are many homeowners, both white and Negro, who have little contact with the rest of the community, and their position is understood and respected. Marynook has been an interracial community for over two years. In this period of time, 40 homes have been bought by white families and 115 by Negroes. Rentals have accounted for another dozen or so families, all white. These figures are almost unheard of in Chicago, where traditionally the advent of the first Negro buyer has meant the disappearance of the white market. In addition, one of the major myths of racial change - that property values inevitably decline - has been conclusively disproven in Marynook, where prices have stayed the same, or in some instances have risen considerably. Equally important is the larger number of residents who have elected to stay, and not repeat the familiar pattern of flight. While there have been many people actively involved in efforts to make Marynook a stable interracial community, just as valuable have been those residents who have done nothing more than stay put. They have done so for a variety of reasons, ranging from a desire to show that integrated living can succeed, to the everyday fact that they enjoy their homes, their gardens, their convenience to offices and see no reason to give up any of this. The ultimate success of Marynook may well depend more on what goes on outside the community than on what happens within it. Adjacent communities, several of them using the same schools, churches and other institutions, are now available to Negroes. Whether or not these areas succeed in stabilizing themselves will have a profound influence on Marynook’s future. A major factor to be considered in evaluating the future of both Marynook and the areas surrounding it is the unwillingness or lack of interest on
the part of real estate brokers to bring prospective white buyers into the community. Even those brokers who claim to have both white and Negro clients have, in almost every instance, brought only the Negroes to Marynook. There have even been occasions when some brokers have talked white buyers out of considering a Marynook home. One of the biggest obstacles in the way of Marynook’s success continues to be the high-school problem. While the elementary school serving the community is an excellent one, and well integrated at both student and staff levels, the high school has been a perpetual problem. It has become virtually all-Negro. Not only do white parents in the area not send their children there (none have for the past two years) but many Negro families as well are dissatisfied with its academic level and curriculum. As a result these families either move away when their children reach high-school age, or else make alternative arrangements. Even so, a great number of residents have sent their children to private, parochial, technical and vocational high schools rather than move. But how long can this trend continue, especially as more and more Marynook children reach high-school age? Marynook is likely always to have a certain proportion of its residents coming and going. The houses are not large, and families who bought homes several years ago sometimes find themselves with need for additional space. Job transfers account for other moves. However, as long as the white population continues to replace itself at least in part, this mobility need not be a decisive factor. Marynook is unique, in Chicago if not elsewhere, for being an interracial community which has achieved its success through its own efforts. It should be relevant to other areas, for what Marynook has done can be done by any neighborhood with sufficient energy and determination.
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MAN IN METROPOLIS A CHRISTIAN RESPONSE Published twenty times a year by the Catholic Council on Working Life, 21 W. Superior St.. Chicago, III. 60610. Yearly, $4.00, single copy, 25c. This reprint distributed by the Chicago Commission on Human Relations