January 1960

The FHA and private lenders maintained racially explicit guidelines refusing to guarantee mortgages in or near Black neighborhoods throughout the 1960s. Black applicants were denied loans at far higher rates than white applicants with identical financials. The practice was federally endorsed until the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which was weakly enforced.

Throughout the 1960s, the Federal Housing Administration and private lenders maintained racially explicit underwriting guidelines that refused to guarantee mortgages in or near Black neighborhoods (redlining). Black applicants were denied loans at rates far exceeding white applicants with identical financials. The practice was federally endorsed until the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which was weakly enforced.

The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission, a state spy agency, compiled files on thousands of civil rights workers, provided information to the KKK, vetted jury pools, and paid informants. Commission files on Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner were given to Neshoba County officials before their murders.

The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission, a state spy agency funded by taxpayers, compiled files on thousands of civil rights workers and Black residents, provided information to the KKK, vetted jury pools to exclude Black-sympathetic whites, and paid informants to infiltrate civil rights organizations. Commission files on Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner were given to Neshoba County officials.

Throughout the early 1960s, Mississippi and other Southern states used 'suitable home' regulations to disqualify Black mothers from receiving Aid to Dependent Children benefits, often targeting families of civil rights activists. A 1961 HEW report found 23,000 children in Louisiana cut off from ADC in a single year under this pretext.