Good Parents, Better Homes, and Great Schools

Approx. 440 pp., 6.125 x 9.25, 32 halftones, 14 maps, 3 tables, notes, bibl., index

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4696-8494-9
Published: July 2025
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4696-8493-2
Published: July 2025

Paperback Available July 2025, but pre-order your copy today!

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Good Parents, Better Homes, and Great Schools examines how white residential developers, planning consultants, and their allies in government strategically replaced block-level segregation with segregation at the neighborhood level in New South cities such as Atlanta, Baltimore, Birmingham, Houston, Raleigh, and Winston-Salem. Going beyond the well-known Home Owners' Loan Corporation maps of the 1930s, Karen Benjamin traces segregation tactics back to the late nineteenth century, when this public-private partnership laid the groundwork for the nationwide segregation strategies codified by the New Deal.

This book links the tactics of residential and school segregation to prevailing middle-class ideas about what constitutes good parenting, ensuring the longevity of both practices. By focusing on efforts that specifically targeted parents, Benjamin not only adds a new dimension to the history of residential segregation but also helps explain why that legacy has been so difficult to undo.

About the Author

Karen Benjamin is associate professor of history at Elmhurst University.

For more information about Karen Benjamin, visit the Author Page.

Reviews

"This book provides a richly detailed examination of the influence of parenting beliefs on residential segregation, introducing an innovative perspective that promises to make a meaningful impact on historical scholarship."—Elizabeth Herbin-Triant, Amherst College