The Other America

The post-World War II time in America was considered a glorious time where many Americans enjoyed the high standard of living that a prosperous U.S had to offer. However, what is not know about this time period is that 40 million people were struggling to make ends meet. In fact, in 1962, 1 out of 4 people were living below the poverty line. These staggering statistics are due to the fact that in the 1950s, many white Americans moved from the cities to rural suburbs. This meant that jobs, industries and the income taxes these white middle-class Americans paid also disappeared from the cities. Ironically, 5 million African Americans moved from the rural areas to the urban cities almost simultaneously.

Now with no funds, city governments could not afford to maintain the high standard of living that whites enjoyed when they lived in the cities. Schools were not maintained, public transportation declined and police were underpaid. But worst of all, the urban poor were suffering. The extent of their suffering was so great that in 1959 the poverty line or the minimum amount to survive was $2973. Michael Harrington saw these despicable conditions that poor Americans had to live through and wrote a book called "The Other America: Poverty in the United States".

This book delineated the filth and utter poverty that African Americans, Native Americans and Latinos had to live through. As a response to the housing problems, urban renewal was a suggested solution and led to the passage of The National Housing Act of 1949. It aimed to ameliorate the horrible living conditions. This was done by tearing down rundown neighborhoods and building low-income houses. A new cabinet position was also created and was called Housing and Urban Development to assist in the renewal of cities.

While many solutions were suggested, there still were some obstacles hindering urban renewal. Land was a problem because, like money, there was not enough of it in the cities. This meant that not enough buildings could be constructed to house the large number of displaced people and they basically had to migrate from one "barrio" (slum) to another.

However, the "other America " did not let their penurious situation put them down. In fact, Mexican Americans organized the G. I. Forum (1948) in an attempt to eradicate discrimination. Native Americans also fought for their rights and managed to establish The Indian Reorganization Act (1934), the Snyder Act (1924) and the National Congress of American Indians (1944). However, it would not be until later when the "other America" emerged from the shadows and claimed the equality that they had fought so hard and long for.