Was the Community You Reside in Once All-White? Mine Was!
A State-By-State Breakdown of Levitt & Sons Communities
“It was a question of economics. We can’t take on the functions of the government or the country. . . . As a Jew, I have no room in my mind or heart for racial prejudice.” However, “I have come to know. that if we sell one house to a Negro family, then 90 or 95 percent of our white customers will not buy into the community. That is their attitude, not ours. As a company, our position is simply this: We can solve a housing problem, or we can try to solve a racial problem, but we cannot combine the two.” — William Levitt
Levitt & Sons is known for starting the trend of neighborhoods where all the homes are virtually the same. They reverse-engineered the process of home manufacturing, beginning with six basic offerings, which were the only options in a Levittown community.
During a time when there was a nationwide housing shortage. Levitt & Sons took advantage of…
