1 20 1 https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/44124/archive/files/7527eac97833b6b413592dc02b6110d8.pdf?Expires=1789603200&Signature=JKtXDDqxNsr4emBWbf7twhSaRnIVtgmcV26Cac1Mte0NkbxHkJNCJ5w5%7En7CrJL5Jd16U5QMVu0m1w09OrJW4aVIhOpAlGILetSP3IbDdJ0pgwk%7EpK42ZoENdWOBlvMgoGZlySDZmOeg9YfvRMvmm01W%7EJtXDOtbGTpNW0py88lbNXdbqF-TyVZZUNHlKmLDnQfvO7bC1ERYR3WKA1svCdWYE-NBiLTxwGgAIx6Sjxg8068mK6x7cg6SjxX6Pa2MlRFwj3uoby3kH7eAvRGcqsrJSlIU9SzUfB6xUwPyuDb0wHlqkQ2fZIP0JgtaJln1pAUmim97NvCDhepnzgIJtg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 8389b12721892a4d305f37e60a73f615 PDF Text Text ORIGIN £F BALTIMORE NEIGHBORFIOODS Barlv Bfterta of Two B~rly neig~borboods force~ In Improve~ents Associations in 1958 t he problem of bl~k~ bustingland struck the nortbwest se. tieD of ~o neig~borhoods c steps were taken by Balti~ore A8hburton and WiDdsor ente~prising and courageous the flight of white faDilies from the area u~odationa INC . of t hanging with Hill~ part i~ular immedi~te citizens to discourage These two were re orgaDized on a bi · racial basis i~provement and an agreesaent reaChed by white and Negro residents alite that a major effort to stabilize the neigbborhood sbould be direlt:ted toward persuadillg the pre-sent ~ite residents to reMain and to attracting new white buyers for bomes placed on the market ~ Steps taken by the 'shburton Area Association included a house=to=bouse c anvass and the distribution of a br~bure the usocia.tion "s aim to stabilize tbe part of the tien ls efforts a fIver area was published c; onta.::ted and I• ~ ontaiDing Il["ea~ As telling of as8ocia~ the names of new white buyers in the and residents who had put up "Par Sale" siena were .sked not to dis"rilllina.te against a prospe~ti ve white buyer in favor of a Negro buyer o These residen ts were also warned against dealing with unserupulous 8pe ~ ulator8 who would ask onty a nominal fee from the owner and then cb8#ge & high fee to a Ne«ro Letters were written to the: personnel ~ hiefs buye~ in key local industries to lSlOCkbusting has been defined by the SaltiQore ~ammission on HUNan Relations as "the delibe~ate creation O~ exploit ation by • real estate br oker dealer spet.ulator , or owner of. prejudice. fear ignorance or pani c designed to indu ~e a rapid change of a block s populat i on from white to colored" �• . 0 e~ploye~s ask them to re ommend the Ashburton Area to consider' the section "off limits· and not to finally a letter was dire.;;;:ted to the Real Estate Board of Greater Baltimore askine realtors to show homes in the .....ea t"> prospective buyers and Dot to "qua,=antine' it Windsor Hills , a nearb)-' ,e.; tion in northwest Baltimore tried to bi a~hieve ra~ ial ting a stabilization by slightly different tactics improvement b~ochure ass~iation The started by publishing and distribu outlining the assets of the area including its solidly constructed older houses .ttb wide lawns and stately trees schooI..- t re;'reational facilities ~enter and prosimity to the Pindins that this measure was inadequate the good of the ass~i.tion appointed one of its own meabera a resident agent to promote sales and rentals sacrifice Througb painstaking efforts and at ~he Windsor Hills agen~ co~iderable personal has su:ceeded in bringing 30 new White buyers to The association notes, 'outside' agent is unwilling either tQ buyers or to risk his tiDe aD an regret ~ith X2 .~end vbYi~ly that the average the area to white difficult , lengthy s&le~ Whi!e the piane,erin, effoE'ts of these two impE'oveaeat uso,:iationa belped. to stell! the tide of pilate ..Del suffi l~nt to 50lve the problem neighborhood bul ... problell' ass~ . iation they felt present nOQeownera potent~a1 white they were not It was early recognized that no could successfully tl.Ckle it alone was tba.t of attitudes the attitudes of baoks and attitude of real estate salesmen of f1ig.~t. pur~bajer. and To lIIost ha~e The the attitude of ~ortg.le importantly lenders tbe the attitude these attitudes and to per for- the educationel job necessary to reversr tradition and prejudice were ..... ~b beyond the scope of individud improvel!W!!nt &SaO;, iations 2 �Accordingly tions in July of 1958" the two improvement joined by several others , and by the Baltimore Urban ass~ia- League ~ the Maryland COlllmission on Interracial Problems and Relations " and tbe Citizens Planning and aid of the business this bu9ines~ Ho~siag ~ommu nity o Association . set out to enlist the An organization representative of leadersnip - the Greater Baltimore Committee - was considered both forceful enougb to take action toward a meamingful soluti~n and the logical organization to approacn by virtue of its sponsorship of an imaginative non~ federa1ly development project for downtown Baltimore~ aided $121 0 000 ~ OOO re ~ The aforementioned civie groups petitioned the Greater Baltimore Committee for belp pointing out that the future of such projects as the Charles Center and the proposed new Civic Center projects for which tbe Greater Baltimore Committee would be jeopardizeo if ringed by miles h&~ fought hard of det"eriorated neigbborhoods inhabited by Negro and low income white residents , The a.pproacb stressed not only the effect of neighborhood change on tne eity~$ cultural c educational Q aad social life but also tbe Deed for higher income families to support downtown rehabilitation and renewal o Consideration of the openin& up of additional areas of new aDd old housing to Negro residents ~ a stimulation of publi c aware= ness of the practices tbat cause disorderly cbange~ and the enlisting of c ooperation of real estate brokers in the preservation of the city these were the requests made of the Greater naltimore Committee" 3 �f,:l.lt,~ C~mmitte~ Rea tio~ Whi le sceptic s had warned t~ at the Gre a ter Baltimore Co=::it t ee s har dheaded businessllco would never bel· oIDe involved. in a proble. as ;;; ontroversia.l , cOIllplex aDd seemingly insoluble as that of c hanging neighborhoods r. the c ivic groupll found that tbe rea4 tloD t o their petition was both prompt and e~ouraling . At. membership meet ing i n September 19S8 n the Greater Baltimore Committee adopted & repert that recognized t he serious economic ,oDsequences of changing neighborhoods and referred the matter to its Urban Rene~al Subcommi t tee with the following Charge . " that the probl~ be t.onsidered with specific on its challenge to the economic stability of t he emphash c ity ~ " that a solution to the problem be studied in conjunc tioo witb other c it, wide organizations civic t business ~ and gove romental :,! " that at the end of • thorough studY r the Urban Renewal Subcommittee re c o~end what role ~ !f anYt the Greater Baltimore Comittee .should pIa, in solving the problem of c haRling n.eigbborhoo(is o" Subeequently g the meabership IIOved to eliminate " if any" f rom the charge aDd finally recOIImended that a ci ty~-wide agen::y be for.ed in whi ch the Grpater Clty -Wi~ Balti~or. COMMittee would participate ~ Conference Held In November D 19S8 ~ • conference sponsored by the Greater BaHimnre CQlllmittee was held and attended by responsible business I!lOO eommunity leaders throughout the c ity planners l edu c ato r s~ ~ ity Rea.l tors meubera of iaprovegent bankers . lawyers . . ss~ iations and �S!.!Y l'lid~ Co!:f e rel1c e Held ~ppropriate (continued ) city Aleneies participated io panel discussions centered on such questions as: 1 How do we stop 2, New 3 How neighborhood resources can be used. 4 How do we make older city housing with new housing in the suburbs? bo~sing blQck~ bustiDg7 now do we get it? for Nelroes The chairman of the meeting mortgaGe banke r ehai'·rnan of a t the c~petitive Mr , James W Rouse . prominent of the aeeting ' onlu~lon ACT]ON ~ a nd urba.n renewal expert said find tbat the rapid conversion of neighborhoods from white to al1~Negro occ upancy presents Baltimore with of ita mo~t serious economic crises in recent years ~ flight of the medium and upper income families from c ity limits and their replacement by persons of botb r~es of the lowest inco~e levels is a threat not only to our municipal solvency but to the economic stability of tbe entire metropolitan area - It is therefore reCDm= m.ended that there be fomed a .:.ity --wide organization co...... posed of representatives of eivic and labor organizations . improvement associations ~ the Real Est ate Board of Greater Balti more the Greater 831ti _ore C~ttee tbe As.~iation of Commerc e , the h~ebuilders . and the c ity and state governments During the preli_iRary stages and until the e ity wide group is well establ~shed the Greater Baltimore C~ittee will provide clerical and professional staff assistance ' ~e all one The tbe The f ormation of Baltir.ore Neighborhoods lac , followed c losely on the heels of this 1.11 ... d., onf ereace By ~ Laws and Articles ~( Inc orporation were drawn and approved by the member groups and ratified on M r i h 20 , 1959 a �nJRPOSES 01' 'rnB OItG4.NIZATION (as stated in the Articles of Incorporation) 1 To conduc t a - ontiauing program to stress and promote the advantages of urban living and the purcha$e of homes in residential neighbor hooda o 2 To maintain the stability and quality of residential neighborhood$ in the Baltimore Me t ropolitan Area 3 To develop and implement mean. of financing older homes in the established resi dential aelghborhoods of Baltimore City on a basis pe r eittinK these neighborhoods to -; ompete from a finan.; ing Viewpoint wi t h the newer developments . 4 To remove the barriers whi ~ h block the operation of a free martet and tbu3 to increase tbe availability of housing sale and rental to all people in the community to stimulate construc tion of new housing units witbin Baltimore City ' and to prevent the practice of "steedsg" Negroes to and white from residential areas tno,,", as 'c hanling neighborhOOdS .. 5 To stem pani ~ or wholesale flight from existing to process and help follow through with neigbbor~oods compl~ints and relating to real estate practices and similar matters affecting neighborhoods 6 To protect residential neighborhoods against the deliberate ' reation or exploitation of real estate brokers prejudice ~ fear ~ dealers~ indu, e a rapid ;haoge in the icnorance r or pani c, w~ther by .!pe;,ulators or others desiring t o ~ har ae ter of popul ation by encouragin« ILlion agains t persons who use illegal t ac.;ti ,: s in the furtherance ot su ~ b teCh niques; and by educ ation uld other appropri a te lI1e ans ~ �7. To work with neighborhood assor.iations buildees o neal estate beokers and agtl1ts. lending i03itutions, church and civi.: group5~ labor st&te and organiz.tions~ ~unicipal age~ie~ the Negro community. appropriate and the general public to coordinate efforts in behalf of the fulfillment of the obJe~tive~ stated above 8 To exercise such otber fun=tions aa may be necessary to maintain the quality of the residential areas of the Baltimore Metropolitan Area. �l RECENT ACTIVITIBS Successful Suit Against Bl~k BUlter Before Narylanti Real Estate CQrlBiu ioo In April 1959 one of the director. Mr ~ Melvin Syles successful in obtaining a suspension of tbe license of a realty V&3 fira (or violation of the state real estate code in a leries of Oft appeal the judge of tbe 8alti~o[e Cit, Court upheld the earlier suapea.ion by tbe Maryland Real Sst.te Coamissioo on tbe grounds that the realty co.paay bad used an i.proper listing fo~ and bad falsel, adVertised property in connection with bla<t- busting tuti(;s CO!IIIIIeoting ~f the wake tbe c1e.:isioa Od blockbusting testi.ooy tbe Baltiaore Soo said "In tbe Real Estate Ca.aission haa t1Sen up and publicI, penalized a fira for 'i.proper dealings How dde ~h.Dgin, ncifbborhoods can feel tnat there is some law on their at tel aU, "The three lDootba SUlpeDiion of Manning Sh.awls license is a ~elca.e ~ tion in the light of uow~olesome efforta by epe(ulators and brokers to induce rapid turnover of properties in formerly white residential areas operatora pr~veQt role ir. ~u9pension should serve as • w rning to other and gi.e heart to the neighborhooda that are trying to panic sales r'o.rl'\isaio:1 The Perhaps most once atuted prevent~ng al~ the Real Estate ahould be J.B5pired to tate a rore a..,;t!ve the pr .akin, a mass fll,ht to i~portant ~f tices that demoral ze a neighborhood into c~n~y aubur~s �Sl1CC~S3ittl ~ SUi '~Omlmission Against Bloek·,·Bus ter Before (cont inued) Maryl':l:.~a Real ~state "Many of the answers to changing neighborhoods have yet to be found n but in clamping down on one continued and flagrant course oC misrepresentation , the Real Bstate Commission has given neiGhbor ~ boods some add! tiona! tille to tryout tbe answers new at tlaod.," An artic le in tbe May 1959 issue of House SlulI!S" quoted Mr. James "New Weapon in the War against follows : "The Manning~Sha~ country because bere in ~nd Hoae entitled '111 0 ROll5e as. ease is going to reverberate across the Ba1tj~ore ~ for the first time ~ it has been proven that the fear clutehiag at the home owaet and the blight ~ force mocking the urban planner This is the firat time 000 ruling of an official body blockbusting = that private citizens ~~~ that 50~e can be stoppedo have won the rules aust be observed in offering real estate for sale o " Preparation of City Ordinances Outlawing Blockbusting Tactics aad Land Inst~llment Contracts ~ The 'Boa.rd of Directors of Baltimore Neillhborboods Inc .. hu prepared draft legislation to be this Sept~r intr04u~ed into the City Counci l matia8 it illegal for realtors to engage in certain practices COll!tlloDly associated wi th bloc:kbusting o Part of th.ia le,is ~ lation is deyoted tD a translation into law of the existing code of etbics endorsed by the real estate professioD in it is felt th.at the police powers of the citv~ Ba1ti~ore n However ~ applicable to all realtors Whether or not they are members of the Real Estate Board and subscribe to its code of etbics ~ will enlarge the s cope and put teeth into the statement of the professional group ~ �" ~~ , W_~l ,e BlJye s to Older In CHy Ne ig~(' h o(l6S Esh.bJ of a Re ... J. Bs t ate Committee \!Iithin Improveme nt Associations Members of the BO.lrd of Di~ectors ~~rJte:\ have made themselves available to mSIlY neighboC'loods which have 1i t He or no eoncept of measures to slow down c·r to arrest fUght .. , Ca3e history vill demonstrate how helpful this type oC communicltion can be D Recently a director was called by the Lauravi Ie Improvemell t Association and notified that thia area had become a. ' ~ bangiDg coll~&e Morgan Col!!ge which is west and nortb of the A s'~11 eolored Tile .. rea lies adjacent to tile Negro state aile , " ~ Jmmunity associatioD ~ Allied generallT to the college for a nt'lber of ye&rs bas served as the springboard of recent accessions 0 ,' Negro pror ~ rty . Sparked by spite sales two years ago by a white hmily to a ." egro family b blocks 0' a for~erly Negro influx has now spread to at least all- white community , soli'::. itat .ollS by realtor_ co the association crl.'ate l'lrest and panic Adverti8e~eats Telephone and mail reported ~ bave begun to in the newspaper for c olored an4 th - unwillingness of many real estate operators to show to pros pec ti~e white buyers c ontributed to the problemo Baltimore Neighborhoods Inc, af ter learning that meabera ~f tbe improveaent association had talked individually to real estate operatora voic ing tbeir e omplaints and had held general and blo ~ t .eetiDga to educate the residents to the full aspee ts of the problem called a meeting of 40 real estate operators in the area to explain tbeir responsibility to stabilize the were small bus i nessmen and not on a. i ty·~ wide se~ tion D As .any of the r ealtors whose livelihood depended largely on the area basis. the appeal thllt B t hanging neigllborbood would IJltimately put them out of business made sense 10 �• ~!~ft~ting ~nite Buy~rs of a Real Estate A was form~d ~eal to Older Committ~e estate to furnish lq~ity Heigbborhco~: ~thin c~~ittee ~e rtinent Improvement Establish~eat As~ociation& of the improvement association data to realtors who were willing to cooperate in bringing white buyers to the neighborhood, than a month after the triumphantly to ~eeting , 8alti~ore (continued) Less the first white buyer was reported Neighborhoods Int o by the assoeiatioD c The sale bas done wonders to improve morale in the neighborhood t out of all proportion to the economic 11- fact ~ � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Baltimore Neighborhoods, Inc. Subject The topic of the resource Discrimination in housing Nonprofit organizations Citizens' associations Baltimore Metropolitan Area (Md.) African Americans Housing Baltimore (Md.) Community organization Reports Correspondence Newsletters Description An account of the resource This exhibit provides an introduction to the work of Baltimore Neighborhoods, Inc. (BNI) around issues of racial integration in housing and tenants' rights from the 1950s to the 2000s. Established in 1958, Baltimore Neighborhoods, Inc. was formed to promote an open housing market and viable integrated neighborhoods in the Baltimore area. It was established by several neighborhood associations and supported by civic organizations like the Greater Baltimore Committee. The early focus of the organization was to obtain open housing and stable neighborhoods during a period of widespread white flight and blockbusting in Baltimore City. Through education and advocacy, it sought to counter racial prejudice, to fight discrimination in the real estate industry, and to combat neighborhood deterioration resulting from segregated housing. More recently, BNI has focused on tenant-landlord relations and renters' rights. The Baltimore Neighborhoods, Inc. (BNI) collection at the University of Baltimore consists of 22 linear inches of archival records, which are described in an online collection database. The complete collection has also been digitized at the folder level and is also available in the collection database. For this exhibit, 32 documents have been selected from the complete collection. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource <a href="https://langsdale.ubalt.edu/special-collections/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Special Collections &amp; Archives, University of Baltimore</a> Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://archivesspace.ubalt.edu/repositories/2/resources/14" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Baltimore Neighborhoods, Incorporated Records, UB Special Collections &amp; Archives</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available <a href="https://langsdale.ubalt.edu/special-collections/">University of Baltimore Special Collections &amp; Archives</a> Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource circa 1958-2009 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This material may be quoted or reproduced for personal and educational purposes without prior permission, provided appropriate credit is given. When crediting the use of portions from this site or materials within that are copyrighted by us, please use the citation: "Used with permission of the University of Baltimore Special Collections & Archvies." Any commercial use of this material is prohibited without prior permission from the Special Collections & Archives, University of Baltimore. Commercial requests for use of the images or related text must be submitted in writing to: Special Collections & Archives, University of Baltimore, H. Mebane Turner Learning Commons, 1415 Maryland Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21201 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource text/pdf Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context R0015-BNI Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 2019-09 Extent The size or duration of the resource. 32 items Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Paper Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Origin of BNI Description An account of the resource Organizational history that describes the formation of Baltimore Neighborhoods, Inc. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource circa 1959 Subject The topic of the resource Citizens' associations Baltimore Neighborhoods, Inc. History Ashburton (Baltimore, Md.) Windsor Hills (Baltimore, Md.) Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Baltimore Neighborhoods, Inc. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available University of Baltimore Special Collections & Archives Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context bni01.01.08a Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Baltimore Neighborhoods, Incorporated Records (R0015-BNI), series I, box 1, folder 8, Special Collections & Archives, University of Baltimore Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Use of this digital material is governed by U.S. copyright law. The University of Baltimore Special Collections and Archives makes digital surrogates of collections accessible if they are in the public domain, the rights are owned by the University of Baltimore, the Special Collections and Archives has permission to make them accessible, or there are no known restrictions on use. Due to the nature of archival collections, rights information is not always discernible. The Special Collections and Archives is eager to hear from any rights owners wishing to provide accurate information. Upon request, material will be removed from view while a rights issue is addressed. Contact the Special Collections and Archives for more information regarding this image. Ashburton (Baltimore Baltimore Neighborhoods Citizens' associations History Inc. Md.) Windsor Hills (Baltimore