A Look at the Suburbs

much di erent than how my parents thought of it,” Aldersea said. “Today, it’s more based on what can be accomplished. It’s not shooting for the stars anymore.”

Aldersea’s personal de nition of the American dream includes a ful lling career, opportunities to be part of a community that one is able to give back to and the freedom to pursue personal interests. She believes housing should be attainable for everyone, but doesn’t think it de nes success or happiness.

Aldersea doesn’t envision ever becoming a homeowner. One reason is that she wants to be able to relocate as she pursues her career goals. Another is that she wants to travel and pay o student loans.

“I don’t think my wage or salary will ever help me a ord a house or mortgage,” Aldersea said. “A house would not be the only thing I’d have to focus on nancially.”

Time will tell whether homeownership will eventually become more important to younger Americans. According to Bankrate, the pull to own a home remains strong. Fifty-nine percent of Gen Z members want to own a home as a life goal, second only to having a successful career (60%).

For other generations, homeownership remains the top life goal and the likelihood of that increases with age. Eighty-seven percent of older adults, aged 68 and up, cite homeownership as integral to the American dream.

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

In 1967, Black Americans were mired in “the long, hot summer.” Frustrations over poverty, unemployment, discrimination and myriad other issues spilled into the streets, leading to clashes with police and arrests in many places, including Denver. e widespread tensions over race left President Lyndon B. Johnson searching for answers.

So, he issued an executive order for a report that would detail what caused the chaos. He wanted it to answer a crucial question: How can the country prevent more unrest in the future?

When the report arrived seven months later, it laid out hundreds of pages of analysis and recommendations for improving race relations in America.

But its message was best summed up in a sentence:

“To continue present policies is to make permanent the division of our country into two societies: one, largely Negro and poor, located in the central cities: the other, predominantly White and a uent, located in the suburbs and in outlying areas.”

A part of a map that shows housing areas where racially restrictive covenants were located in Je erson County. This part of the map includes part of Lakewood, Wheat Ridge and Golden. Red areas had the covenants, green areas did not and yellow areas were unclear. See the full map at tinyurl.com/Je coRacialCovenants.

In other words, the issue of where people can live was at the heart of the report. It all ties into the American dream, the idea of a family owning a home, building wealth as that home increases in value over time and being able to live in whatever neighborhood a family can a ord without fear of discrimination.

Yet more than half a century later, that divide between Black and White residents continues to complicate the dream in many parts of America, including the suburban towns and cities that surround Denver. e divide is less stark and less known than it was in 1967, but its legacy is still alive in the metro area, where the Black population tends to live in Denver or Aurora, numbering in the tens of thousands.

Elsewhere, Black residents number in the hundreds or just a few thousand while White residents make up strong majorities. White residents are 78% of the population in Arvada and 1% are Black. White residents are 80% of the population in Littleton and 2% are Black. White residents are 82% of the population in Castle Rock and less than 1% are Black.