Chicago and its suburbs were already experiencing a tight housing market before an influx of new citizens arrived in the 1950s and 1960s. The Chicagoland area saw an increase in the African American population as they fled racial violence and sought more opportunities following two Great Migrations from the South. During this time there was a 64% population increase of non-white individuals in the city of Chicago, and a 83% increase of non-white individuals in the suburbs in 1960.
Many minorities in Chicago-especially Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Jews, and Asians—have suffered from a discriminatory housing market, but African Americans have been the most prevalent victims. By the early twentieth century, white property owners and real estate agents had devised systems to ensure residential areas remained racially segregated.