January 1972

The Contract Buyers League, founded by Black Chicago homeowners who had been sold homes on exploitative land contracts, pursued lawsuits exposing how contract selling stripped an estimated $500 million from Black families on the West and South Sides. Denied conventional mortgages due to redlining, families paid inflated prices with no equity accumulation until the final payment.

Ten civil rights activists including Reverend Ben Chavis were convicted of arson and conspiracy following racial violence in Wilmington, North Carolina in 1971. Sentences totaled 282 years. Amnesty International declared them prisoners of conscience in 1976. The convictions were overturned in 1980 after witnesses recanted, citing prosecutorial misconduct and false testimony.

The Contract Buyers League pursued lawsuits exposing how contract selling stripped an estimated $500 million from Black families on Chicago's West and South Sides. Denied conventional mortgages due to redlining, families paid inflated prices with no equity until the final payment.