As Long as They Don't Move Next Door - by Stephen Grant Meyer (Hardcover)

About the Book

Despite the commonly held perception that most northern citizens embraced racial equality, As Long As They Don't Move Next Door graphically demonstrates the variety of methods--including violence and intimidation, unjust laws, restrictive covenants, discrimination by realtors and mortgage lenders, and white flight to suburban enclaves--used by whites to thwart the racial integration of their neighborhoods. Author Stephen Grant Meyer offers the first full length national history of American race relations examined through the lens of housing discrimination, and he forces readers to confront and re-evaluate the deep and enduring division between the races. Although this is a discomforting analysis, which concludes that housing discrimination still exists, it is only a clearer understanding of our shared racial past that will enable Americans to create a successful prescription for fighting intolerance. An original and captivating study that illuminates overlooked groups and individuals committed to the national struggle for civil rights, this is important reading for anyone interested in African-American history.

Book Synopsis

Despite the commonly held perception that most northern citizens embraced racial equality, As Long As They Don't Move Next Door graphically demonstrates the variety of methods-including violence and intimidation, unjust laws, restrictive covenants, discrimination by realtors and mortgage lenders, and white flight to suburban enclaves-used by whites to thwart the racial integration of their neighborhoods. Author Stephen Meyer offers the first full length national history of American race relations examined through the lens of housing discrimination, and he forces readers to confront and re-evaluate the deep and enduring division between the races. Although this is a discomforting analysis, which concludes that housing discrimination still exists, it is only a clearer understanding of our shared racial past that will enable Americans to create a successful prescription for fighting intolerance. An original and captivating study that illuminates overlooked groups and individuals committed to the national struggle for civil rights, this is important reading for anyone interested in African-American history.

Review Quotes

"This is a provocative and disturbing book that should be read by all those concerned about the tortured history of racism in the United States. Stephen Meyer cogently explains why fair housing for African

Americans is still the last frontier for achieving racial equality and
is likely to remain so for a long time to come." --Steven Lawson, Rutgers University and co-author of Debating the Civil Rights Movement

"W.E.B. Du Bois observed that the problem of the twentieth century was 'the problem of the color line.' Stephen Meyer brilliantly interprets the social dynamics of the color line in the residential patterns of urban America. As Long As They Don't Move Next Door analyzes the historical evolution of urban segregation, and explains how and why the battle for equality has yet to be won." --Manning Marable, M. Moran Weston/Black Alumni Council Professor of African-American Studies, Columbia University

"Stephen Meyer skewers the smug assumptions of Northerners who believe that racism was primarily a Southern problem. A significant contribution to the literature of civil rights and public policy, As Long As They Don't Move Next Door will also help inform the debate over affirmative action." --Paul Ruffins, The Instrumentalist

" As Long As They Don't Move Next Door is an exhaustive look at segregation in American housing . . . rife with chilling stories. There is no denying the jolt you get when you read how desperately segregated housing remains in this country." --Bill Duryea, St. Petersburg Times

"[Meyer's] descriptions of civil rights strategies, political pressures, and efforts to legally disrupt de facto segregation at federal, state, and local levels provide fascinating insights into how political systems and regional societies function. From California to New England, from the deep South to the Midwest, he documents the reluctance of Americans to sacrifice control of their property for the ideals of democracy. Meyer offers a fresh look at the development of the Civil Rights Movement and at the legislative and judicial ancestry and progrency of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. With statistical appendixes and thorough footnotes he has given students of the role of realty in the Civil Rights Movement an excellent starting point." --J.H. Smith, Wake Forest University, Choice Reviews

"Backed by far ranging research, this perceptive study shines a penetrating spotlight on the role that housing discrimination has played, and continues to play, in promoting racial inequality." --Emerge

"Meyer has made a compelling case for the importance of evaluating race relations through an examination of residential housing. Based on his extensive research in government documents, manuscripts, newspapers, and other relevant sources, his work is useful not only in providing studies of residential segregation in cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and Detroit, but also in tracing the legal and constitutional history of fair housing." --North Carolina Historical Review

"Stephen Grant Meyer offers a broad overview of the remarkable persistence of racially segregated neigbourhoods throughout the United States. In a single volume, Meyer sweeps across time and place, illuminating the protracted struggle between black and white Americans over access to residential space." --Journal of Southern History

"A well-written and exhaustively documented narrative. . . . Meyer's work is a thoroughly researched examination of a timely issue. Its unique scope makes it necessary reading for anyone interested in civil rights and race relations." --A. Scott Henderson, associate professor of education and coordinator of secondary education, Furman University, Reviews in American History

"By focusing on turbulent, race-driven housing struggles in selected cities, Meyer has unveiled the depth and extent of white resistance and provides fresh insight into what Douglas S. Massey and Nancy A. Denton have called 'American apartheid.'" --John F. Bauman, University of Southern Maine, Journal of American History

"The book is insightful and makes a strong statement for the importance of race in urban housing." --Urban Studies

"This book is a well-written, concise history of the conflict between blacks and whites in American cities." --The Historian

"In addition to its focus on an important topic, the book is lucidly written and impressively researched. It presents a clear and coherent argument that applies historical analysis to a significant contemporary issue. For these reasons, the book is likely to become a standard on many undergraduate and graduate reading lists." --Journal of Social History

"Meyer's work adds much to our understanding of the geographical expression of racial division in the United States." --American Historical Review

"As Long as They Don't Move Next Door provides a new and more meaningful perspective on the nature of prejudice and intolerance with particular regard to housing. This book is well documented and has an extensive and useful bibliography." --Race Relations Abstracts

"An excellent examination of the shadow that hovers over efforts to obliterate racial discrimination: residential racial segregation. Meyer's deep historical analysis can be of value to scholars interested in urban politics, the politics of race in America, and to scholars of governmental institutions." --Jason McDaniel, University of Southern California

About the Author

Stephen Grant Meyer received his Ph.D from the University of Alabama and is currently a writer, historian, and teacher living in Statesville, North Carolina.