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/ [ I .f • THE ATLANTA INQUIRER Sat u r day, Oc t ober 14, 1961 I . I I ! . ·' · ' t . ·.• I _J ust l,vpat .· I s Blockbus t ing? ' ' t' ' ' . ', ' As everybody : who h a s b een ·i n this _,; o rl'd mo re than · a ' year ·or two .' knm~,s , wo r ds can· b e used to make· .thi n gs· cl~ar,. or . they ,can b e 1 . ' ' us e d t o conf u se . , ·· , 1 . ., . ., ' During _t h e p a s t week ~. one wo r d has b een us e d. rather . con fu s i ngly . here in Atlanta. . is . , I , . " Blo ckb us t ing"-- and after talking .with s ome o f ·our f r ien d s in the real est a te bus ine ss , we have decide d it might be , .·u seful t o _try ' t o c l a rify ,the t~rm o .
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'l'he wo rd
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- · ' Fir s t o f a ll , 'the wo rd was us ed i n s uch North e rn . cities a s Phila- ,
~- d elphia t o d e s c ribe a "scare tactic" _used by . c e rtain r e al tors . . A · · ·
home wo uld b e pur chased i n ·t he h e a r t of an all-white neighborh ood,
for i n stance , a nd a Negro would b e moved i nto . this . h ome. At the
' .. , . same' time, wor d would b e pass ed t hat "They 're c oming!", ·, along . · .· ,•
·with the . u s ua l t h r e a t s of falling property value s (plus ·the
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· promi s e s o f a qui ck kill ing f o r h ome - owners' who sold to Negroes .-. :
a t much . .more t han
. the second-hand housing was worth) . ,
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Negro rea l ti sts h e r e in ·A tl anta, l i ke members o f t hei r national
organization t hrough out Ameri ca , believe i n open occup~ncy .. Tha t
is, _t h ey do not support s e gregat ed hou s i ng •
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At the same t i me , local realtists point o u t , t hey hav e operated
<?n a p olicy of II orderly transition. of n e i ghborhoods."
Th anks t o s uch i nstitution s as Ci ti zens Trus t Compa n y , Mutu al ::
· -Federal Savings & Loan, Atlanta Life Insura nce Company , Con s olida ted
Mortgage Inve stment Company and the n ew Atla nta Mortgage Company,
Inc ., new h ous i ng , as wel l as used h ous ing , ·· has been a primary in- ,
t erest of Negro buyer s and the r ealtist s wh o ser v e t hem.
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