2. Agostino !2
The Blurred Lines of the American Dream
Levittown, New York is a suburb that was built by Levitt & Sons in the 1940s and 50s in
Nassau County, Long Island. This development was built on the sandy potato plain and
organized into winding rows of idealistic Levitts, Cape Cod style homes, that made up American
suburbia. At the end of WWII in 1945, 16 million GI’s were returning from either Europe, the
Pacific or military bases in the United States. As these men returned home they were ready to
settle down, get married and raise families. During William Levitt’s service in Hawaii,
Lieutenant Levitt realized the urgent need for housing and the availability of cheap farmland; this
provided his family with a profitable opportunity. 1
Levittown provided a large amount of homes at a time where there was a high demand
for affordable housing. The returning service men had access to low-interest “GI Loans”. These
loans made the Levitt homes extremely affordable making them also very attractive. Levitt &
Sons announced their plan to build 2,000 rental homes for veterans on May 7, 1947. Within a
short time of this announcement half of the homes had already been rented. The suburb became a
symbol of the American Dream however, Levittown also became a symbol of racial segregation
and discrimination. 2
Discrimination in Levittown
Although the American Dream was now obtainable it had its limits. Levitt inserted
restrictive covenants in deeds and leases stating that houses could only be rented or sold to
people of the caucasian race. This was not a secret though, from the New York Times, New York
Amsterdam News, Atlanta Daily World and other major newspapers Levitt’s quick affordable
housing solution was openly turning potential customers away because of race. Apparently
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Levitt’s reasoning behind this decision was seen as a smart business move. He wanted something
to appeal to the majority of his potential buyers. His decision to discriminate against blacks was
a “business decision” that in the eyes of Levitt would ultimately increase profits.3
This “business decision” discriminated against GI’s from moving into Levittown. They
were simply asked, “Are you a negro?” and if they responded yes they were told, “Negroes are
not permitted to buy homes here”. As reported in Atlanta Daily World James Mayweather waited
24 hours outside the model home like others who had applied for housing in Levittown. When it4
was his turn to speak with a sales representative he was told by Levitt, “Negroes can not buy one
of these houses”. The Philadelphia Tribune reported on June 14, 1949 that a Jamaica branch
member of the NAACP Mrs. Myrtle Archer attempted to purchase a home for her veteran son.
Mrs. Archer was among negroes so she was told she could not purchase a home. Due to Mrs.
Archers experience with the NAACP, her and Arthur Fraenkel, a white Levittowner, organized a
one-hour sit down in the Levittown sales office while members of the NAACP, the American
Jewish Congress and other groups quickly organized an unplanned protest rally outside the sales
office. 5
However, some black families were able to move through Levitt’s barrier. For example,
Mr. and Mrs. Leroy Cannon a black couple. They were not let into Levittown by Levitt they
actually heard that an individual owner of Levittown wished to rent his home. The Cannon’s
contacted a realtor and moved into their home in Levittown. This was one way couples and
families who were not white moved into Levittown.
The New York Times reported on December 5, 1950 that two couples were denied renewal
of their leases. Mr. And Mrs. Julius Novic and Mr. And Mrs. Adolph Ross were asked to vacate
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their homes when their leases were up because they had black children playing with their white
children. The families encouraged their children to play with all children regardless of race
because they feared their children were growing up in a all-white community and would not
experience inter-racial living. During the summer these families invited black children to play
with their white children two or three times a week. In August the families were promptly
reminded of their expiring leases and Levitt instructed them to leave at that time. Levitt’s refusal
to renew the leases resulted in the families attorney’s taking Levitt to State Supreme Court
saying that Levitt was in violation of Federal Laws concerning housing. 6
NAACP and Other Organizations Involvement
At this point you should be wondering what was done to stop Levitt? Well, the NAACP
and other organizations were heavily involved with removing the restrictive covenant clause that
was written in deeds and leases. The removal of this clause was emphasized because of the
recent 1948 Supreme Court Case Shelley v. Kraemer saying that courts can not have racial
covenants on real estate. What concerned many members of different organizations was that even
after this Supreme Court decision Levitt still had approval and insured mortgages from the
Federal Housing Association (FHA). On March 18th, 1949 a meeting was held with Mr. Thomas
Grace, the State Director of the FHA. At this meeting there were representatives from about
twelve organizations, to name a few: the NAACP, American Jewish Committee, American
Jewish Congress, American Labor Party, Long Island Civil Rights Congress etc. The
representatives from these organizations asked of the FHA that (1) the FHA instruct Levitt to
cease inserting restrictive covenants in deeds and leases (2) the FHA instruct Levitt to cease this
policy and practice of refusing housing to Negroes (3) the FHA needs to issue a statement which
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will notify all builders and developers of residential property publicly that FHA insurance and
approval of a project will not be given if the project restricts people regarding a racial, religious,
or national bias. This group of representatives also made it clear that if Levitt does not comply
with these requests then the FHA will have to withdraw approval from all projects built by Levitt
and will refuse to insure mortgages placed on property at the time of the sale. Representatives of
these organizations took turns in accusing the federal government of not only failing to take steps
against segregation but also of aiding in its extension.7
On March 26, 1949 it had been reported that Thomas Grace, director of the FHA for New
York State who was present at the meeting on March 18th, once took the responsibility of
disproving a mortgage request made by Levitt in 1947. Later Grace’s decision was reversed by
the officials of the FHA in Washington. Thomas Grace admits to being powerless until FHA
policy was changed in Washington. In June 1949 Franklin Richards, the commissioner of the8
FHA, said, “the FHA has no authority to tell Levitt how to run his business”. However, it was
reported on June 14, 1949 by the Philadelphia Tribune that Levitt was forced to remove the
covenants from his leases by an anti-bias campaign. Even after this covenant was removed he9
still refused to sell homes to blacks. The article that reported the removal of the covenant is the
same article that reports that Myrtle Archer, as mentioned above, was turned away from
purchasing a home in Levittown.10
Despite efforts to integrate Levittown and seek equal opportunity for all, Levittown did
not integrate until well after 1954. Looking at the 1990 census only a small part of Levittown is
non-white. According to sociology professor Dr. Andrew Beveridge of Queens College, due to
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the effects of Levittown’s history of discrimination Nassau County is the most segregated suburb
in the United States.11
What Weakened the Movement of Racial Equality in Levittown?
Taking a step back and contextualizing the entire Levittown racial struggle let’s ask
ourselves what was brewing exactly at the same time as Levitt was building? America was going
through the cold war. In the late 1940s and early 1950s hysteria began over the threat of
communists in the United States. This period is known as the Red Scare. The fear of communist
control had a huge impact on the United Staes Government and society as a whole. The cold war
dominated American politics and culture according to Patricia Sullivan author of Lift Every
Voice. Everyone including the federal government was under speculation of whether they were
loyal to the United States Government or not. In August 1948, the American Communist Party
was brought up on charges by the federal government that the leaders of the American
Communist Party were conspiring to overthrow the United Staes government.12
This social phenomenon trickled down even into the progressive organizations especially
the NAACP. The NAACP was vulnerable because of the Communist’s Party’s active support of
antiracism and civil rights. The NAAP responded to the pressure to avoid communist charges by
disassociating from groups on the left. The NAACP developed procedures to follow if particular
branches are accused of being “infiltrated” by communists. At the 1950 convention the NAACP
created a committee to investigate communist infiltration charges in particular branches and to
establish procedures that would suspend any branch that came under communist control. The
NAACP’s new goal was to preserve its brand and good reputation with the government which
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caused paranoid members accusing people frequently dividing branches and immobilizing the
NAACP as a unit.13
When researching the actions taken by the NAACP it was impossible to avoid the
obvious difference in coverage of what was going on. In the New York Times, New York
Amsterdam News, The Chicago Defender etc. newspaper articles discussed Levittown as a great
new suburb to live in, as well as exploiting Levitt for his racist policies and actions. The NAACP
papers lack that coverage, and explicitly document the factionalism and catty disputes within the
Great Neck, Manhasset, Port Washington Branch of the NAACP. The belief was if you were a
red you would rule it or ruin it; if a red could not get power democratically they will undermine
who ever is in their way to get it. This fear weakened the coalition. By spending time on internal
struggles involving the fear of having communist leftist board members ruin the NAACP’s
creditable reputation they wasted time, effort, and energy in the wrong places.
The election that took place on November 15, 1949 caused the Great Neck, Manhasset,
and Port Washington Branch to be looked at more closely. Mrs. Anne Aldrich, the newly elected
president, received a letter from Roy Wilkins, the executive secretary, on November 29, 1949
regarding a complaint to the National Office of her NAACP branch protesting the election. An
observer from the National Office of the NAACP actually noted the conduct of the election of
officers. He specifically pointed out that there were two distinct factions in the meeting. One that
represented what the observer would call “the old line NAACP” and the other faction
representing a new element which appeared to him as a group led and directed by the American
Labor Party in Long Island. It is important to note that the American Labor Party was an
alternative Democratic party that many liberals abandoned when the party was accused of
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communist activity. This election was the straw that broke the camels back between William
Cotter, former president and Anne Aldrich, the newly elected president in the November 1949
election.14
Cotter wrote a letter to Wilkins, the assistant secretary of the executive office, discussing
the horrible organization and miscommunication about the place and time of the branches
monthly meeting. Cotter criticized how the meeting lasted for only twenty minutes, ten of which
were devoted to prayer. Towards the end of the letter he deems Aldrich’s conduct as
undemocratic and requests the removal of the President for being unfit and partaking in acts that
do not match up to his idea of the best interests of the NAACP.15
Mrs. Aldrich, who is also writing a complaint letter to the executive office of the NAACP,
claims that the last two years of leadership of the Branch had been labeled as “Left-wing”. She
said the accusations that were held against her were simply because those who lost the election
were irate and sore losers. Mrs. Aldrich eventually seeks the expulsion of certain members of the
branch including Mr. Cotter. On November 28th, 1952 Mr. Bisserup, Mrs. Bisserup, Mr. Hermen
Bell, and Mr. William Cotter received a letter notifying them of their expulsion. Mr. Cotter in
1953 actually was evicted from his Levittown home and then moved into a home a few doors
down that he rented from Daniel Eisman. Daniel Eisman soon received a phone call from Mrs.
Brengal representing the Levittown press.. In Eisman’s account of Mrs. Bengal’s call she warned
Eisman of who Cotter was and how he was not favored by 80% of those that lived in Levittown.
Eisman disregarding her comments still felt strongly about his decision to allow the Cotter’s to
rent his home while he was not living there. He felt this way even after Mrs. Brengal threatens
his future social reputation in Levittown. Cotter went on the be the chair of the Committee to
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End Discrimination In Levittown. A testimonial dinner sponsored by the Committee was held in
honor of Cotter in 1954.16
The issues being documented when looked at from a outsider is perspective, seem to be
so dramatic and petty. On Friday November 28, 1952 the expulsion of these members as left
wing, faction creators, was labeled by the NAACP as a victory, to rid of these people. In this
segment of the Great Neck NAACP Branch News the issue regarding these members was
reported to have, “ended the first phase of the NAACP’S battle to preserve its democratic
integrity.” (NAACP Papers 1950-1950 pg. 120) The NAACP saw this as a victory that achieved
their new goal to get those expelled who do not comply with beliefs making them lose sight of
their original goal of fighting against discrimination. 17
This is not the only example of where the red scare factionalized an organization
ultimately assisting in weakening its chances in achieving its goal. In the article Opportunities
Found and Lost: Labor, Radicals, and the Early Civil Rights Movement written by Korstad and
Lichtenstein cites reasons are given as to why the labor movement failed in the 40s and 50s. A
decade-long decline in working class black activism destroyed the organizational coherence and
ideological enthusiasm of the labor-based civil rights movement. Lichtenstein argues that one
element that contributed to the decline was that the conservatives used the Communist issue to
attack New Deal and Fair Deal reforms. This strategy isolated Communist-oriented black leaders
and helped destroy what was left of the Popular front. The rise of anticommunism dismantled the
Popular Front coalition on civil rights which largely contributed to the defeat and diffusion of
that movement.18
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Now seeing the Levittown struggle from a cold war context has given us a deeper
understanding of why the Levittown movement had been undermined. By spending time on
internal struggles the NAACP weakened their coalition and caused road blocks in building a
movement. Although Levitt was successful in creating an environment where blacks could not
buy homes the effort of individuals and some organizations can not go unrecognized. The red-
scare instead of bringing a country together, to stay true to their grassroots, factionalized
organizations and dismantled a movement that was trying to do just that.
11. Agostino !11
Endnotes
Hales, Peter. “Levittown: Documents of an Ideal American Suburb” University of Illinois at1
Chicago. http://tigger.uic.edu/~pbhales/Levittown.html
Levittown Historical Society. “A Brief History of Levittown, New York”
www.levittownhistoricalsociety.org/history.htm
Hales, Peter. “Levittown: Documents of an Ideal American Suburb” University of Illinois at2
Chicago. http://tigger.uic.edu/~pbhales/Levittown.html
Levittown Historical Society. “A Brief History of Levittown, New York”
www.levittownhistoricalsociety.org/history.htm
Molotsky, Irvin. “Levittown 30 Years Later: Levittown’s Builder Looks Back.” The New3
York Times, 2 Oct. 1977 Web. March 25, 2014.
“FHA Asked to Halt Negro Housing Ban” Atlanta Daily World. March 17, 1949.4
“FHA Director Says Agency Is Neutral on Jim Crow” Philadelphia Tribune. June 14, 1949.5
“4 Say Levittown Refuses Leases After-Children With Negroes” The New York Times. December 5,6
1950. Retrieved from Proquest Historical Newspapers.
Papers of the NAACP, Part 5, folder “Federal Housing Authority General Jan-March” Retrieved from7
Proquest History Vault.
“Group Protests Aid on Houses Barring Colored People” New Journal and Guide. March 26,8
1949.
“FHA Director Says Agency Is Neutral on Jim Crow” Philadelphia Tribune. June 14, 1949.9
“FHA Director Says Agency Is Neutral on Jim Crow” Philadelphia Tribune. June 14, 1949.10
Lambert, Bruce. “At 50, Levittown Contends With Its Legacy of Bias” New York Times, 28 Dec11
1997 Web. March 26, 2014.
“Red-Scare” http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/red-scare12
Sullivan, Patricia. “Lift Every Voice: The NAACP and the Making of the Civil Rights13
Movement” New York: The New Press, 2009. Print. Page 370.
Papers of the NAACP, Part 26, Series B, folder "Great Neck, 1949” Retrieved from Proquest History14
Vault.
Papers of the NAACP, Part 26, Series B, folder "Great Neck, 1949” Retrieved from Proquest History15
Vault.
Papers of the NAACP, Part 26, Series B, folder "Great Neck, New York, 1950-1954” Retrieved16
from Proquest History Vault.
12. Papers of the NAACP, Part 26, Series B, folder "Great Neck, New York, 1950-1954” Retrieved17
from Proquest History Vault.
Lichtenstein, Nelson. “Opportunities Found and Lost: Labor, Radicals, and the Early Civil Rights18
Movement” The Journal of American History, Volume 75, Issue 3. December 1988.
Agostino !12
