Excluding People of Color
From The Middle Class
Was Intentional.

During this period,
many of these programs
that built the middle class
were essentially unavailable
to people of color.

For example, the VA and FHA
loan programs for housing,
both of which used racially-restrictive
underwriting criteria, assured
that very little assistance
would go to families of color
through the 1960s. These
loans helped finance over
half of all suburban housing
construction in the country
during this period, however
less than 2% ended up
being lived in by people of color.