WEBVTT

00:00:00.613 --> 00:00:01.113
- [singing]
Life could be a dream.

00:00:01.947 --> 00:00:03.847
Life could be a dream.

00:00:03.880 --> 00:00:07.380
Do-do-do-do, sha-boom.

00:00:07.413 --> 00:00:09.047
Life could be a dream.

00:00:09.080 --> 00:00:10.980
Sha-boom,
if I could take you up

00:00:11.013 --> 00:00:12.547
in paradise up above,

00:00:12.580 --> 00:00:14.113
sha-boom,
if you would tell me

00:00:14.147 --> 00:00:16.213
I\'m the only one that you love,

00:00:16.247 --> 00:00:17.747
life could be a dream,

00:00:17.780 --> 00:00:20.147
sweetheart, hello, hello again.

00:00:20.180 --> 00:00:23.780
- When we were first married,
we lived in Philadelphia.

00:00:23.813 --> 00:00:29.513
When the opportunity for us
to move to Pennsauken came about,

00:00:29.547 --> 00:00:31.880
oh, my gosh,
for the same amount of money

00:00:31.913 --> 00:00:35.013
that you were paying
in Philadelphia for a little row home,

00:00:35.047 --> 00:00:38.113
you could come and have
a single home with a front yard,

00:00:38.147 --> 00:00:41.647
a backyard, a driveway, a garage.

00:00:41.680 --> 00:00:45.380
It was everything that everybody said
was the American dream.

00:00:45.413 --> 00:00:47.113
- [singing] Sha-boom,
if I could take you up

00:00:47.147 --> 00:00:48.647
in paradise up above,

00:00:48.680 --> 00:00:50.280
sha-boom,
and tell me, darling,

00:00:50.313 --> 00:00:51.547
I\'m the only one that you love...

00:00:51.580 --> 00:00:53.280
female narrator:
They sprang up,

00:00:53.313 --> 00:00:56.980
surrounding America\'s bustling,
crowded cities,

00:00:57.013 --> 00:01:01.347
yet were far enough away
to offer open space and fresh air.

00:01:01.380 --> 00:01:04.880
They were the first suburbs.

00:01:08.747 --> 00:01:13.780
Thousands of Americans flocked
to these towns and found the good life.

00:01:21.847 --> 00:01:28.013
Now many of these original suburbs
are struggling to survive.

00:01:28.047 --> 00:01:30.480
They\'re strapped for cash.

00:01:30.513 --> 00:01:33.413
Stores and families are leaving.

00:01:33.447 --> 00:01:36.880
The government policies
that once fueled their growth

00:01:36.913 --> 00:01:41.380
are undermining them today.

00:01:41.413 --> 00:01:46.080
Yet 1/5 of America
still calls these first suburbs home.

00:01:46.113 --> 00:01:48.280
- [cheering]

00:01:48.313 --> 00:01:51.247
- Inner ring suburbs
are suffering the same fate

00:01:51.280 --> 00:01:53.613
that fell upon inner-city communities.

00:01:53.647 --> 00:01:56.113
And as they\'re becoming
more integrated,

00:01:56.147 --> 00:02:00.147
the racial issue that caused people
to flee the urban areas

00:02:00.180 --> 00:02:03.247
is causing people to flee those areas.

00:02:03.280 --> 00:02:06.380
- Many of our first suburbs
are losing population

00:02:06.413 --> 00:02:08.380
actually at a greater rate
than the city is.

00:02:08.413 --> 00:02:12.947
People are moving out,
leaving decline in property value,

00:02:12.980 --> 00:02:17.647
and just like the city,
they\'re losing their tax base.

00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:20.680
- One, two, three.

00:02:20.713 --> 00:02:24.513
All: Pennsauken.

00:02:24.547 --> 00:02:26.680
Narrator: But there are people
who are committed

00:02:26.713 --> 00:02:30.380
to these early suburban hometowns.

00:02:30.413 --> 00:02:33.180
This is the story
of a citizen movement

00:02:33.213 --> 00:02:39.013
working to keep the American dream
alive for everyone.

00:03:08.847 --> 00:03:14.313
- Pennsauken is a first suburb
of both Camden and Philadelphia.

00:03:19.247 --> 00:03:21.580
It was a wonderful place
to raise children.

00:03:21.613 --> 00:03:23.480
There were a lot of young families.

00:03:23.513 --> 00:03:26.080
It was a white community,

00:03:26.113 --> 00:03:29.647
almost exclusively white community
at that point.

00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:31.447
Not that I was so aware of that,

00:03:31.480 --> 00:03:33.247
because I had come
from a white community.

00:03:33.280 --> 00:03:35.580
So I wasn\'t thinking about race.

00:03:38.080 --> 00:03:39.980
We were part of a migration.

00:03:40.013 --> 00:03:42.680
I don\'t think we knew it
or saw it that way.

00:03:42.713 --> 00:03:45.180
It was only in retrospect
when we looked back,

00:03:45.213 --> 00:03:48.880
and we saw
how many people were leaving.

00:03:48.913 --> 00:03:51.980
People were coming in droves.

00:03:52.013 --> 00:03:54.613
Everybody came from Philadelphia.

00:03:54.647 --> 00:03:57.580
And you had people
also coming from Camden.

00:03:57.613 --> 00:04:01.680
Camden, of course, being so close,
and Camden being on the river

00:04:01.713 --> 00:04:04.580
was a bustling,
bustling town for industry.

00:04:06.713 --> 00:04:08.480
You had RCA.

00:04:08.513 --> 00:04:10.280
You had Campbell\'s Soup.

00:04:10.313 --> 00:04:14.147
You had such major industry
going on in Camden,

00:04:14.180 --> 00:04:17.380
and yet the neighborhoods
were becoming unsafe.

00:04:19.580 --> 00:04:24.147
Pennsauken was far enough away
at that time to make a difference.

00:04:25.947 --> 00:04:28.280
Nobody was thinking of the impact
it was going to make

00:04:28.313 --> 00:04:29.947
on the places they were leaving.

00:04:29.980 --> 00:04:33.913
It was only a part of what I am entitled
to have as I\'m going forward.

00:04:37.047 --> 00:04:42.747
Narrator: First suburbs like Pennsauken
really took off after World War II.

00:04:42.780 --> 00:04:47.213
Returning veterans, their brides,
and the resulting baby boom

00:04:47.247 --> 00:04:50.580
sparked a flurry
of federal housing programs.

00:04:50.613 --> 00:04:56.513
Millions of federal dollars poured into
building these new suburban communities.

00:04:56.547 --> 00:04:58.280
- Folks, this is Mr. Chandler.

00:04:58.313 --> 00:04:59.413
This is Mr. and Mrs. Russell.

00:04:59.447 --> 00:05:01.013
We\'ve just closed a home loan for them.

00:05:01.047 --> 00:05:02.180
- Oh, good.

00:05:02.213 --> 00:05:04.180
Narrator:
The Federal Housing Administration

00:05:04.213 --> 00:05:09.313
guaranteed bank loans,
shielding banks from risk.

00:05:09.347 --> 00:05:12.547
Thousands of Americans
purchased their first homes

00:05:12.580 --> 00:05:15.147
and entered the middle class.

00:05:15.180 --> 00:05:20.913
But not everyone was welcome
in these communities.

00:05:20.947 --> 00:05:24.813
- The Federal Housing Act
provided money

00:05:24.847 --> 00:05:31.280
for people to be able to get loans
and move to the suburbs.

00:05:33.580 --> 00:05:38.080
The FHA for 20 years provided
this mortgage assistance

00:05:38.113 --> 00:05:41.547
on a racially restricted basis.

00:05:41.580 --> 00:05:45.480
We solidified patterns
of racial segregation

00:05:45.513 --> 00:05:52.980
by making it only available
in segregated areas and suburban areas.

00:05:53.013 --> 00:05:58.713
- The suburbs were made for white people
for quite a long time.

00:05:58.747 --> 00:06:01.980
FHA agents went around
the country, the cities,

00:06:02.013 --> 00:06:03.580
and urban regions around the country,

00:06:03.613 --> 00:06:05.580
and they graded neighborhoods
in terms of risk.

00:06:05.613 --> 00:06:13.613
The riskiest neighborhoods
were colored on the FHA maps red.

00:06:13.913 --> 00:06:18.213
Narrator: Federal lending practices,
including redlining,

00:06:18.247 --> 00:06:23.947
helped establish the racial divide
in the early suburbs.

00:06:23.980 --> 00:06:29.280
Race-related housing covenants
excluded Jews, African-Americans,

00:06:29.313 --> 00:06:33.847
and other ethnic groups
from moving into certain neighborhoods.

00:06:33.880 --> 00:06:40.347
Though ruled unconstitutional in 1948,
the practice continued for decades.

00:06:40.380 --> 00:06:45.780
- It was a conscious policy
not to give loans to homes

00:06:45.813 --> 00:06:48.213
in specified neighborhoods.

00:06:48.247 --> 00:06:52.080
And those were invariably
black neighborhoods

00:06:52.113 --> 00:06:54.513
or integrating neighborhoods.

00:06:54.547 --> 00:06:57.613
And so that policy reinforced,
you know,

00:06:57.647 --> 00:07:02.147
whatever state laws
or real estate market customs

00:07:02.180 --> 00:07:07.380
were at work in those years
to exclude African-Americans.

00:07:07.413 --> 00:07:10.280
Narrator: In the \'60s and \'70s,

00:07:10.313 --> 00:07:13.780
the civil rights movement
fought against housing discrimination

00:07:13.813 --> 00:07:18.913
not just in the inner city
but in suburbs across the country.

00:07:18.947 --> 00:07:26.713
- And it is wrong to deny anyone
a decent place to live

00:07:26.747 --> 00:07:33.680
solely because of the color of his skin.

00:07:33.713 --> 00:07:39.013
Narrator: In 1968, President Johnson
signed the Fair Housing Act

00:07:39.047 --> 00:07:40.980
and created other government policies

00:07:41.013 --> 00:07:46.547
outlawing all discriminatory
lending practices.

00:07:46.580 --> 00:07:48.080
Across the country,

00:07:48.113 --> 00:07:55.113
people of color began purchasing homes
in the neighborhoods of their choice.

00:07:55.147 --> 00:07:57.380
Since the 1980s,

00:07:57.413 --> 00:08:01.047
the number of families of color
moving into first suburbs

00:08:01.080 --> 00:08:02.880
has more than doubled.

00:08:02.913 --> 00:08:06.213
- Excellent, yep.

00:08:06.247 --> 00:08:07.513
Do you want to try this one?

00:08:07.547 --> 00:08:11.113
Narrator: These towns are often
a first jump from the cities

00:08:11.147 --> 00:08:14.847
and are still close
to job opportunities.

00:08:14.880 --> 00:08:21.247
But the struggle for truly integrated
communities is far from over.

00:08:21.280 --> 00:08:26.013
- We were picking out a house
that we could grow in,

00:08:26.047 --> 00:08:27.613
that had four or five bedrooms,

00:08:27.647 --> 00:08:30.613
and we knew the township had
a good school system.

00:08:30.647 --> 00:08:36.180
And they also had lots of recreation
and pools and playgrounds.

00:08:36.213 --> 00:08:40.447
And they also had lots
of other families like us.

00:08:42.647 --> 00:08:44.680
There were more whites on the block.

00:08:44.713 --> 00:08:47.280
And I got to tell you,
the whites were here.

00:08:47.313 --> 00:08:49.913
When we looked at the house,
they were outside looking at us,

00:08:49.947 --> 00:08:51.913
and I - we were really kind of wondering,

00:08:51.947 --> 00:08:54.113
\"Are they gonna be friendly,
or are they like, you know,

00:08:54.147 --> 00:08:56.080
\'What are these black people
doing moving in?\'\"

00:08:59.613 --> 00:09:03.080
- It was July the 3rd, 1996.

00:09:03.113 --> 00:09:07.147
I walked outside to pick up
our newspaper.

00:09:07.180 --> 00:09:09.213
And the home down the street

00:09:09.247 --> 00:09:12.247
where new African-American neighbors
had moved in

00:09:12.280 --> 00:09:16.280
just probably a couple months before

00:09:16.313 --> 00:09:22.647
now had five sale signs
almost like a ring around their home.

00:09:22.680 --> 00:09:27.880
And all I can say is that
I was overwhelmed with sadness.

00:09:30.147 --> 00:09:36.113
It was clearly white flight.

00:09:36.147 --> 00:09:38.547
I looked at myself in the mirror
that night, and I said,

00:09:38.580 --> 00:09:42.847
\"Well, if you want somebody
to do something,

00:09:42.880 --> 00:09:45.213
\"you got to do it yourself.

00:09:45.247 --> 00:09:52.080
\"If you want somebody to do something,
you better take responsibility.\"

00:09:52.113 --> 00:09:54.113
I didn\'t know what to do.

00:09:54.147 --> 00:09:55.913
I didn\'t know how to do it.

00:09:55.947 --> 00:09:59.080
I just knew that I wanted
to live in a town

00:09:59.113 --> 00:10:01.247
that reflected all the people.

00:10:08.380 --> 00:10:12.880
I met with too many people
that were told by realtors,

00:10:12.913 --> 00:10:15.413
and they were told
by other people,

00:10:15.447 --> 00:10:16.947
\"Hurry up.
Get out.

00:10:16.980 --> 00:10:19.480
Get while the getting\'s good.\"

00:10:19.513 --> 00:10:21.847
And I started asking people
how they feel

00:10:21.880 --> 00:10:26.280
about living in a town
that\'s clearly changing from all white.

00:10:26.313 --> 00:10:30.713
And I asked them if they would come
to my dining room table,

00:10:30.747 --> 00:10:33.513
and could we talk about this?

00:10:33.547 --> 00:10:34.680
Welcome, everybody.

00:10:34.713 --> 00:10:36.547
It\'s good to have everybody here
this month.

00:10:36.580 --> 00:10:38.813
For those of you who are new, though,

00:10:38.847 --> 00:10:42.913
I\'d like to take just a couple of minutes
before we start our discussions maybe,

00:10:42.947 --> 00:10:45.480
and let\'s introduce ourselves.

00:10:45.513 --> 00:10:47.647
- Bill Martell.

00:10:47.680 --> 00:10:49.680
I\'ve been in Pennsauken for 30 years,

00:10:49.713 --> 00:10:51.713
and I live in the Chadwick section.

00:10:51.747 --> 00:10:52.813
- Janet Locke,

00:10:52.847 --> 00:10:55.813
and I\'ve been in Pennsauken
since 1963,

00:10:55.847 --> 00:11:00.647
and I live right across the street.

00:11:00.680 --> 00:11:04.547
- Hi, I\'m Dung Nyguen Asley,
and I am 14 year,

00:11:04.580 --> 00:11:06.947
been a Pennsauken resident...

00:11:06.980 --> 00:11:11.547
narrator: Neighbors began to gather
for monthly meetings at Lynn\'s house.

00:11:11.580 --> 00:11:15.247
Calling themselves
\"Neighbors Empowering Pennsauken,\"

00:11:15.280 --> 00:11:18.780
the group sought
to better understand each other

00:11:18.813 --> 00:11:21.547
and the issues threatening their town.

00:11:21.580 --> 00:11:25.613
- Does anybody know anybody
that moved from Pennsauken

00:11:25.647 --> 00:11:28.513
to one of the further ring suburbs?

00:11:28.547 --> 00:11:30.313
[all agree]

00:11:30.347 --> 00:11:32.780
- My daughter.
- Yes.

00:11:32.813 --> 00:11:36.747
- Okay, what does sprawl mean
to you guys?

00:11:36.780 --> 00:11:37.780
- Fleeing.

00:11:37.813 --> 00:11:38.813
- Fleeing.

00:11:38.847 --> 00:11:39.847
- Fleeing.

00:11:39.880 --> 00:11:40.880
- Yeah, go ahead.

00:11:40.913 --> 00:11:43.513
Tell us more about that, Barbara.

00:11:43.547 --> 00:11:45.113
- Well, from a real estate perspective?

00:11:45.147 --> 00:11:46.213
- Yeah, sure.

00:11:46.247 --> 00:11:47.247
- You - you -

00:11:47.280 --> 00:11:48.280
- White flight.

00:11:48.313 --> 00:11:53.313
- People - white flight,
but not just residential:

00:11:53.347 --> 00:11:54.413
industrial, commercial.

00:11:54.447 --> 00:11:59.480
I mean, all of our working dollars
are now outside of the community.

00:11:59.513 --> 00:12:03.347
We need to do something
about this, you know.

00:12:03.380 --> 00:12:04.847
And that\'s what I think of it, fleeing.

00:12:04.880 --> 00:12:08.247
- Yes, because we have
those big buildings that are empty.

00:12:08.280 --> 00:12:09.880
- My fear is loss of communities.

00:12:09.913 --> 00:12:12.280
With people being all over the place,

00:12:12.313 --> 00:12:15.847
you won\'t have the sense of people
knowing their neighbors,

00:12:15.880 --> 00:12:17.080
knowing each other.

00:12:17.113 --> 00:12:20.113
- Neighbors, neighborhoods.

00:12:29.780 --> 00:12:33.913
- My wife joined the group first,
one of the first folks to start it.

00:12:33.947 --> 00:12:37.780
I got involved just to learn more
about what they were doing

00:12:37.813 --> 00:12:38.813
and try to help them.

00:12:38.847 --> 00:12:40.247
And at that time,
I had become -

00:12:40.280 --> 00:12:41.880
I was a new appraiser,

00:12:41.913 --> 00:12:45.247
so I was kind of like just seeing

00:12:45.280 --> 00:12:47.480
a lot of the different communities
and neighborhoods

00:12:47.513 --> 00:12:51.013
and understanding the difference
in the home values

00:12:51.047 --> 00:12:55.447
in our neighborhood
versus the outer ring suburbs.

00:12:57.880 --> 00:13:00.747
Narrator: During the housing boom
of the late 1990s,

00:13:00.780 --> 00:13:03.913
home values
in South Jersey skyrocketed

00:13:03.947 --> 00:13:10.080
but not in increasingly diverse
Pennsauken.

00:13:10.113 --> 00:13:14.747
- Unfortunately, when a town
gets below 50% white,

00:13:14.780 --> 00:13:18.147
that does make it very difficult
for the town

00:13:18.180 --> 00:13:25.547
to keep the same amount of services
and the same housing values that they had.

00:13:25.580 --> 00:13:28.580
You can go all over this country
and find any of the towns

00:13:28.613 --> 00:13:32.147
that are predominately people of color

00:13:32.180 --> 00:13:34.680
and compare their services
and housing values

00:13:34.713 --> 00:13:39.747
and find that they are less than
integrated and white towns.

00:13:39.780 --> 00:13:42.747
It\'s simply a fact of this country.

00:13:42.780 --> 00:13:45.780
[martial band music]

00:13:52.180 --> 00:13:55.313
narrator: Some realtors scared residents
into selling quickly,

00:13:55.347 --> 00:13:59.413
warning that changing demographics
would destroy home values.

00:13:59.447 --> 00:14:02.647
[kids shouting]

00:14:02.680 --> 00:14:09.480
Pennsauken lost nearly 40%
of its white residents.

00:14:14.947 --> 00:14:19.747
- When Neighbors Empowering Pennsauken
became the name,

00:14:19.780 --> 00:14:27.313
we, as a group, had already
come up with a million ideas.

00:14:27.347 --> 00:14:31.480
So we would have different seminars
in the public library.

00:14:31.513 --> 00:14:33.880
We had people going out
meeting with other people,

00:14:33.913 --> 00:14:38.547
talking with anyone
that was willing to talk to us.

00:14:38.580 --> 00:14:43.047
We were doing good things,
but we really weren\'t making changes.

00:14:43.080 --> 00:14:47.147
So it was beginning to become obvious
that there was a link missing.

00:14:47.180 --> 00:14:48.980
We just didn\'t know what the link was.

00:14:49.013 --> 00:14:50.647
[people chattering]

00:14:50.680 --> 00:14:52.313
- Daisy, Daisy.

00:14:52.347 --> 00:14:53.980
- Well, we have a good team.

00:14:54.013 --> 00:14:56.113
- In order for
Neighbors Empowering Pennsauken

00:14:56.147 --> 00:15:00.313
to be a more influential group

00:15:00.347 --> 00:15:04.113
and to really have some type
of wholesale change on the community,

00:15:04.147 --> 00:15:06.280
we had to get the government involved.

00:15:06.313 --> 00:15:08.613
And the way to get
the government involved

00:15:08.647 --> 00:15:11.447
was to create
the Stable Integration Governing Board,

00:15:11.480 --> 00:15:17.547
which was a township board
created by Pennsauken leadership.

00:15:18.613 --> 00:15:21.280
Narrator: With the help
of an integration consultant,

00:15:21.313 --> 00:15:26.547
the group embarked on a new strategy
called intentional integration.

00:15:26.580 --> 00:15:31.513
- You have to have a relationship
with the people who do the selling

00:15:31.547 --> 00:15:36.380
and get them pumped up
and supply them with information.

00:15:36.413 --> 00:15:40.213
- There are a lot of realtors
that don\'t know anything about our town

00:15:40.247 --> 00:15:43.647
other than what
they read in the newspaper,

00:15:43.680 --> 00:15:45.480
you know, the negative stories.

00:15:45.513 --> 00:15:49.180
And we were talking about
getting people together

00:15:49.213 --> 00:15:52.547
where we actually took
the realtors on tour.

00:15:52.580 --> 00:15:55.447
Narrator: The board set up
policies and programs

00:15:55.480 --> 00:15:59.713
that would intentionally integrate
every aspect of town life:

00:15:59.747 --> 00:16:04.047
the housing market, schools,
and local government.

00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:05.847
They monitored census data

00:16:05.880 --> 00:16:11.513
and took steps to maintain racial balance
among all ethnic groups.

00:16:11.547 --> 00:16:17.980
At the time, home purchases by whites
had dropped to a record low.

00:16:18.013 --> 00:16:20.247
- Even though the town
looked like we were integrated,

00:16:20.280 --> 00:16:25.647
the only people who were buying homes
in our town were people of color.

00:16:25.680 --> 00:16:28.480
And you would say,
\"Well, what\'s wrong with that, you know?

00:16:28.513 --> 00:16:30.147
Don\'t they deserve to buy your homes?\"

00:16:30.180 --> 00:16:31.680
Absolutely.

00:16:31.713 --> 00:16:35.247
But when only people of color
are buying homes,

00:16:35.280 --> 00:16:38.280
sooner or later,
that town will become segregated,

00:16:38.313 --> 00:16:41.747
just like it was segregated white
years ago.

00:16:41.780 --> 00:16:44.213
- And I remember
the meeting that we had.

00:16:44.247 --> 00:16:45.380
We were talking.

00:16:45.413 --> 00:16:47.647
And here I am,
an African-American mayor,

00:16:47.680 --> 00:16:49.180
and I have to come out and say,

00:16:49.213 --> 00:16:52.080
\"You know, we need more whites
in our town.\"

00:16:52.113 --> 00:16:54.147
I said, \"Boy, how is that
going to be perceived?\"

00:16:54.180 --> 00:16:55.413
And we massaged it.

00:16:55.447 --> 00:16:59.847
We looked at it,
but when we looked at it in totality,

00:16:59.880 --> 00:17:01.380
we realized what we were doing

00:17:01.413 --> 00:17:03.380
was for the betterment
of the whole community.

00:17:03.413 --> 00:17:08.113
- So now what\'s this group going to do,
and how are we going to do it?

00:17:08.147 --> 00:17:11.313
And that\'s when we began
to become far more aggressive

00:17:11.347 --> 00:17:12.880
in our marketing efforts.

00:17:12.913 --> 00:17:17.213
- We want to have people
outside of the town

00:17:17.247 --> 00:17:19.780
wanting to buy houses in our town.

00:17:22.247 --> 00:17:25.880
Narrator: The board created billboards,
brochures, and flyers

00:17:25.913 --> 00:17:29.180
and distributed them
throughout the Philadelphia area

00:17:29.213 --> 00:17:32.313
to attract potential buyers.

00:17:32.347 --> 00:17:37.313
They also let realtors know
they were monitoring their practices.

00:17:39.913 --> 00:17:42.947
Their efforts paid off.

00:17:42.980 --> 00:17:45.313
- Here we go.

00:17:45.347 --> 00:17:48.680
Our realtor brought us through
the Collins Tract area of Pennsauken,

00:17:48.713 --> 00:17:51.280
and we loved it.

00:17:51.313 --> 00:17:56.513
We have two playgrounds
within walking distance of our house,

00:17:56.547 --> 00:17:59.580
which is fabulous.

00:17:59.613 --> 00:18:03.613
We can walk to
a couple restaurants and drugstores

00:18:03.647 --> 00:18:04.813
from where we are.

00:18:04.847 --> 00:18:07.613
We\'re real happy with the school district.

00:18:07.647 --> 00:18:10.713
It\'s a plus to have
a diverse neighborhood.

00:18:10.747 --> 00:18:13.580
Just get to know your neighbors, you know?

00:18:13.613 --> 00:18:19.713
That\'s the best way to be comfortable
with difference and change.

00:18:19.747 --> 00:18:23.647
You\'re being silly.
You\'re being silly.

00:18:23.680 --> 00:18:25.813
I got you.

00:18:25.847 --> 00:18:29.180
- [laughing]

00:18:35.813 --> 00:18:37.880
- Welcome, all you new neighbors

00:18:37.913 --> 00:18:40.613
and the organizations
and everyone that\'s here.

00:18:40.647 --> 00:18:43.680
We really appreciate you coming out.

00:18:43.713 --> 00:18:48.680
Let me be the first one to compliment you
on your choice of address.

00:18:48.713 --> 00:18:50.780
We\'re glad you moved in.

00:18:50.813 --> 00:18:51.813
[applause]

00:18:51.847 --> 00:18:54.880
narrator: The results were impressive.

00:18:54.913 --> 00:19:00.880
By 2004, demand for Pennsauken homes
had risen among all groups,

00:19:00.913 --> 00:19:08.913
including a 40% increase
among whites as new neighbors.

00:19:09.813 --> 00:19:12.780
The board also found
that very few people of color

00:19:12.813 --> 00:19:16.080
were serving in local government.

00:19:16.113 --> 00:19:22.913
- We did not have anybody on PTA
that was Latino or African-American.

00:19:22.947 --> 00:19:25.013
We certainly did not have any Asians.

00:19:25.047 --> 00:19:27.913
So what we saw was that there was

00:19:27.947 --> 00:19:32.480
a paucity of people of color
in our civic life,

00:19:32.513 --> 00:19:35.347
certainly in our leadership roles.

00:19:35.380 --> 00:19:39.013
- That\'s good.

00:19:39.047 --> 00:19:40.047
[applause]

00:19:40.080 --> 00:19:41.513
narrator: So they organized

00:19:41.547 --> 00:19:44.180
leadership training programs
for the community.

00:19:44.213 --> 00:19:49.213
- You all have done
what most Americans fear doing,

00:19:49.247 --> 00:19:53.713
and that is getting together,
gathering around a table,

00:19:53.747 --> 00:19:59.147
a diverse group of people
by race, gender, class,

00:19:59.180 --> 00:20:02.413
and to hold
some really hard conversations.

00:20:02.447 --> 00:20:05.047
And it\'s conversations
that many Americans need to have

00:20:05.080 --> 00:20:06.580
but we\'re afraid to have.

00:20:06.613 --> 00:20:08.580
So go forth.

00:20:08.613 --> 00:20:09.780
Make a difference.

00:20:09.813 --> 00:20:12.580
Participate in our community
in the best way possible,

00:20:12.613 --> 00:20:15.913
and keep the good news out
about how Pennsauken Township

00:20:15.947 --> 00:20:17.347
is a great place to live.

00:20:17.380 --> 00:20:18.380
Thank you.

00:20:18.413 --> 00:20:20.013
[applause]

00:20:20.047 --> 00:20:24.147
- That leadership training program
now has graduated -

00:20:24.180 --> 00:20:27.413
I think we had 35 in one group
and then 17 in another.

00:20:27.447 --> 00:20:29.347
- Okay, here we go.

00:20:29.380 --> 00:20:32.113
- Now you can see people of color

00:20:32.147 --> 00:20:38.113
are really within all of the areas
of leadership within our township.

00:20:38.147 --> 00:20:41.147
[all speaking at once]

00:20:46.747 --> 00:20:48.187
- Hey, Alfonso.
- Hey, how you doing?

00:20:48.213 --> 00:20:49.213
- Good, how you are doing?

00:20:49.247 --> 00:20:50.347
- Not bad, how you doing?

00:20:50.380 --> 00:20:51.547
- Good to see you too.

00:20:51.580 --> 00:20:52.580
- Thank you.

00:20:52.613 --> 00:20:55.847
- I just wanted to ask you guys
to come to our annual picnic.

00:20:55.880 --> 00:20:59.013
Last year, your whole family came,
and I\'m hoping maybe you\'ll come again.

00:20:59.047 --> 00:21:00.047
- Yes, absolutely.

00:21:00.080 --> 00:21:01.320
- What do you want us to bring?

00:21:01.347 --> 00:21:03.713
- Well, we got all kinds of chicken,
and we got some ham.

00:21:03.747 --> 00:21:05.113
We got some pulled pork.

00:21:05.147 --> 00:21:06.647
Pennsauken has achieved much.

00:21:06.680 --> 00:21:08.847
- All right.
- Thank you.

00:21:08.880 --> 00:21:11.813
- But one of the greater challenges
that still face us

00:21:11.847 --> 00:21:14.913
is that we cannot do this alone.

00:21:14.947 --> 00:21:18.980
There are so many towns
surrounding Pennsauken,

00:21:19.013 --> 00:21:21.147
and there are so many reasons
for people

00:21:21.180 --> 00:21:23.247
to start looking at
some of these other towns

00:21:23.280 --> 00:21:27.713
that unless we collaborate
with these other towns on a regional basis,

00:21:27.747 --> 00:21:30.813
we don\'t stand a chance.

00:21:32.147 --> 00:21:36.847
Narrator: Local integration programs
helped revitalize Pennsauken.

00:21:36.880 --> 00:21:39.947
But Lynn
and the Stable Integration Governing Board

00:21:39.980 --> 00:21:45.047
worry that their cause could be undermined
by state and federal policies

00:21:45.080 --> 00:21:48.113
that subsidize
new suburban development.

00:21:50.447 --> 00:21:57.147
Harold sees this firsthand
when he goes to the new outer ring suburbs.

00:21:57.180 --> 00:21:58.980
- When they build that new house,

00:21:59.013 --> 00:22:01.480
they build all new infrastructure,
all new schools.

00:22:01.513 --> 00:22:04.580
It takes the resources
from the older communities

00:22:04.613 --> 00:22:09.547
when people leave and decide
they want to move to those newer -

00:22:09.580 --> 00:22:11.213
those newer communities.

00:22:18.847 --> 00:22:21.147
Narrator: While these new towns
receive funding

00:22:21.180 --> 00:22:23.947
from state
and federal construction programs,

00:22:23.980 --> 00:22:27.680
first suburbs like Pennsauken
don\'t get such help.

00:22:27.713 --> 00:22:34.280
They are left on their own
to rebuild their aging infrastructure.

00:22:34.313 --> 00:22:36.447
- They have a benefit here

00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:39.980
that the residents
of Pennsauken Township don\'t have

00:22:40.013 --> 00:22:46.847
strictly by choosing to live
in the newer townships.

00:22:46.880 --> 00:22:50.880
- So we\'re competing
amongst ourselves here,

00:22:50.913 --> 00:22:53.747
and people will go
where it\'s cheaper.

00:22:53.780 --> 00:22:57.747
And if the services are equal,
that\'s where they\'re gonna go.

00:23:03.113 --> 00:23:06.647
Narrator: Harold and Lynn
know that their next challenge

00:23:06.680 --> 00:23:11.647
is to work towards policies
that support regional cooperation

00:23:11.680 --> 00:23:19.080
so that all communities,
old and new, can prosper.

00:23:19.113 --> 00:23:21.347
- I think the significant fact
is that New Jersey

00:23:21.380 --> 00:23:24.447
is one of the first states
that supposedly will be built out,

00:23:24.480 --> 00:23:29.547
meaning they have no more space to build
any more new houses in the country.

00:23:29.580 --> 00:23:32.847
And you know, I\'d like to think
that if we could figure it out here,

00:23:32.880 --> 00:23:36.513
it may be a model that other people
around the country can use

00:23:36.547 --> 00:23:40.380
to really get things to change.

00:23:48.280 --> 00:23:51.280
[people talking and laughing]

00:23:53.213 --> 00:23:54.513
- This is what we just saved.

00:23:54.547 --> 00:23:57.980
[laughter]

00:23:58.013 --> 00:24:01.380
- It goes all the way to Maine
all the way down

00:24:01.413 --> 00:24:03.113
through Virginia,
through Tennessee.

00:24:03.147 --> 00:24:06.880
- We must learn to live together.

00:24:06.913 --> 00:24:11.813
We must learn to work together
and to be able to go forward together.

00:24:11.847 --> 00:24:12.847
I saw she was pregnant.

00:24:12.880 --> 00:24:14.413
- Right, it\'s on the other side.

00:24:14.447 --> 00:24:15.947
- That\'s a huge dream.

00:24:15.980 --> 00:24:18.947
It\'s not going to happen tomorrow,

00:24:18.980 --> 00:24:21.113
but at least I think
there\'s enough people

00:24:21.147 --> 00:24:25.647
trying to achieve stable integration
to show that these other towns

00:24:25.680 --> 00:24:27.580
that this is the way of the future.

00:24:30.813 --> 00:24:32.247
- All people need to do

00:24:32.280 --> 00:24:37.380
is to educate themselves
and exercise some political will

00:24:37.413 --> 00:24:40.180
to be able to use
the resources we have

00:24:40.213 --> 00:24:42.680
in ways that produce
the results that we want,

00:24:42.713 --> 00:24:44.213
which is a fully inclusive society.

00:24:44.247 --> 00:24:45.613
- We appreciate it.

00:24:45.647 --> 00:24:47.047
- But ultimately,

00:24:47.080 --> 00:24:53.213
when the American people realize
the strength of the diversity

00:24:53.247 --> 00:24:54.680
that is this country

00:24:54.713 --> 00:24:59.180
and they make a commitment
to invest in it and embrace it,

00:24:59.213 --> 00:25:01.747
we\'ll become a model for the world.

00:25:01.780 --> 00:25:03.847
All: Cheese!

00:25:03.880 --> 00:25:05.847
- [singing]
Oh, life could be a dream.

00:25:05.880 --> 00:25:07.513
Sha-boom,
if I could take you up

00:25:07.547 --> 00:25:09.147
in paradise up above,

00:25:09.180 --> 00:25:10.780
sha-boom,
and tell me, darling,

00:25:10.813 --> 00:25:12.680
I\'m the only one that you love,

00:25:12.713 --> 00:25:14.213
then life could be a dream,

00:25:14.247 --> 00:25:15.913
sweetheart, hello, hello again.

00:25:15.947 --> 00:25:17.347
Sha-boom,
and hope we meet again.

00:25:17.380 --> 00:25:18.380
Boom-ba-boom.

00:25:18.413 --> 00:25:25.047
[man scatting]

00:25:25.080 --> 00:25:26.680
Life could be a dream.

00:25:26.713 --> 00:25:28.780
Life could be a dream.

00:25:28.813 --> 00:25:33.613
Do-do-do-do, sha-boom.

00:25:35.213 --> 00:25:39.213
[stirring piano and strings music]

00:26:06.480 --> 00:26:08.513
male narrator: This program
has been made possible

00:26:08.547 --> 00:26:13.513
through the generous support
of the Ford Foundation,

00:26:13.547 --> 00:26:17.713
with additional support
from the Surdna Foundation.