White flight was something that primarily happened in the 50s, 60s and early 70s. Yes. It was racist. It was due to White people's stupid beliefs that Black people moving into the neighborhood would hurt property values. Of course, property values will fall if a large number of people suddenly start moving out of an area. It's all about supply and demand, not skin color.
White flight was extremely common in the Northeast. I assume it was common in the South. I know of one White woman in her 90s that has lived in the same home since the 1950s. She is the only White person left in the neighborhood as all the racists moved out after some Black folks move into the neighborhood. I have a Black friend who lives 4 doors down from the one White woman who wasn't afraid of Black people moving in.
I've been in my home for 22 years. We didn't have any Black neighbors until 2005, when a Black nurse moved in a few doors down from me. Now we have about 20% Black/80% White mix of home owners. As the older home owners die or downsize, the neighborhood becomes more diverse in many ways. As far as I know, no White person has moved out because of our new Black neighbors. All of our neighborhoods in town are now somewhat integrated. All of our schools are very integrated, unlike places like New York City, which has the most segregated schools of any large city in the nation, or so I've read several times. I hope that changes.
New Jersey remains very segregated with a few exceptions. I attended a high school in NJ in the 60s that had 3000 students. Only about 20 of them were Black, and they were mostly. upper class children of professionals. Still, the small Black professional community lived in one section of town. The Northeast is far more segregated than the South is these days. When I have visited NJ, it's always shocking to me.
White flight is what led to redlining by realtors. Hopefully, we are over this type of racist nonsense, as most of us have learned to live side by side without worrying about home values declining. There was one family on my street who moved out a couple of months ago. They were White and if anyone was bringing down the neighborhood, it was them. They were loud, unfriendly and they always had at least 4 or 5 pick up trucks parked on the front lawn. If they moved out because so many Black people were moving in, then all I can say is "Thanks wonderful Black neighbors for helping us get rid of the worst neighbors I've ever had in my life."
I would say that the US is less racist than it has been in the past, despite what has happened during the Trump era. Thanks to the orange menace, it was okay to be racist again, but I hope that as more children grow up with the benefit of having friends who may not look like them, will get us to the place where racism is wrong again. Of course, we will never totally rid the world of all aspects of racism. Humans are too flawed as a species for that.
The US as well as most other Westernized countries used the labor of Black people to build their economies and they continued to devalue the contributions of Black people, sadly often to this day. Yes. It should be taught in school, but it doesn't need to have a fancy label. It's just part of the history of the country and children should be taught the truth.
Have some on the Left gone nuts in regards to this issue? Yes. A small percentage of people seem to think that every single White person is a racist and that none of us understand what Black folks have had to deal with when it comes to racist policies and racist police. But, I think some of those extreme "woke" views make Black people look like pitiful little victims, when most of the Black women who I know personally, or that I am friends with, are strong, vibrant people, who don't need White people to protect them. I'm more in line with MLK than I am with some of today's "woke" who use Black people to make themselves feel like they are their saviors. I'd find that insulting if I were a Black person. Just treat others as you like to be treated. The Golden Rule still works for the most part.
But, if you are ignorant in regards to the long history of racism in the US, I highly recommend Carol Anderson's book, "White Rage". She tells it like it was, in a very fair and objective way.
