The white family left South Holland uneasy about the change that was coming. There was no panicked rush to leave, just a nagging sense that life in the south suburb would begin to decay.
The black family came simply looking for a change. They arrived as part of a wave of affluent blacks leaving stable, middle-class neighborhoods on Chicago’s South Side.
When David and Janet Nelson sold their beige, brick ranch house on University Avenue to Henry and Vernice Washington in 1996, conventional wisdom might have suggested that the town soon would be another community caught in the maelstrom of racial change, where property values plummet, crime soars, city services wane and the quality of life bottoms out.
But that hasn’t happened in South Holland and a handful of other south suburban communities where middle-class African-Americans have replaced a large chunk of the white population in one of the most striking examples of racial change to emerge from the 2000 census.
The phenomenon dubbed “white flight” when it tore up communities in the 1960s still appears to be at work, according to the new census figures, though with a decidedly different tone and tenor. Black and white families are trading places, though there is less fear, less panic, and an attempt to maintain stability amid change.
In 1990, 44 percent of Dolton residents were minority; in 2000, 87 percent were. In the same time, the minority population in Calumet City rose from 31 percent to 66 percent; Richton Park, 27 percent to 66 percent; Olympia Fields, 24 percent to 58 percent.
Amid this change, South Holland is seeking to build and redefine itself.
Since 1990, the percentage of minorities in town has more than tripled, from 15 percent to 56 percent. But as is true to varying degrees in the other communities, as well, there is no immediate sense of economic trouble.
Homes that start in the $300,000 price range are under construction in several new subdivisions. Over the last two years, the village has seen more than $100 million in economic investment, officials say.
And though there has been some tension, the village, whose motto is “faith, family and future,” has tried to stem white flight by instituting programs that try to help blacks and whites narrow the racial divide.
Exactly how South Holland will evolve over the next few years may be difficult to predict. But while much is changing, many point out that much has also remained the same.
The couple who walk
“White people have been taught that when blacks come, we bring a lot of bad baggage. Absolutely not true,” said Henry Washington, who was an engineer at Chicago State University before retiring in 1993. “If people moving in can afford the socioeconomic level of the neighborhood, then nothing changes.”
His evidence is what he and his wife have seen of South Holland over the last four years while exercising. Weather permitting, the couple walk 5 miles a day around this town, founded by Dutch immigrants and known for its 26 congregations and blue laws that prohibit the sale of alcohol within town borders.
Washington said that along University Avenue, where white neighbors used to wave at them–“everybody around the village know us as the couple who walks”–several of the homes have switched over to black ownership.
On a recent day, as the Washingtons passed homes belonging to a doctor, lawyer, entrepreneur and minister, Vernice Washington, a retired schoolteacher, pointed out that each of the newcomers was African-American.
The Washingtons’ exercise route takes them past the new $5 million Village of South Holland Community Center and Health Club that opened last summer, and past Carrington Cove, one of three subdivisions where artists renderings give a glimpse into the luxury homes under construction.
Henry Washington said he moved to South Holland because the peace, quiet and comfort were reminiscent of the life he had in Chatham, where the family raised a son and daughter. He said he also chose to move south because he didn’t feel like “being a pioneer or [being] racially profiled” in a predominantly white suburb.
He said he enjoys living in an integrated community because of the lessons one can learn.
“If [blacks and whites] would only look beyond color, they’d find they have far more similarities than differences,” he said. “Living in an integrated community is like marriage. It takes a lot of work, and everybody’s not up for it.”
Pulling up stakes
David and Janet Nelson, who met while attending high school in South Holland, had lived in the village most of their lives before selling their home to the Washingtons. They said they had multiple reasons for pulling up roots and moving to their two-story house in Frankfort.
Janet Nelson, 48, said that although the town’s changing racial makeup was integral to the decision, so were uncertainties about the stability of property values and the desire to be near family and friends who had either moved already or were planning to relocate.
“We had no problems but we knew that things were going to continue to change,” Nelson said. “I think everyone moved for the same reason. There was no incident. Nothing bad happened.”
Still, leaving wasn’t easy, she said.
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“We had been there so long. I felt sad about the whole situation.”
At the time of the move, the Nelsons had a son who was a sophomore at Thornwood High School, a son in the 7th grade and a daughter in 4th grade.
“They did not like leaving their friends,” she said.
After moving and transferring to Lincoln-Way High School, their oldest son continued to go back to South Holland to see friends and to mow the lawns of former neighbors.
She said the family doctor and dentist are still in town and they also return to visit David Nelson’s mother, who has no plans to move.
“She’s very involved with her community,” Janet Nelson said.
David Janke, the village’s public relations director, said since 1980 when South Holland started to become integrated, officials worked hard to persuade white residents to stay put. He said they began by looking at the racially integrated community of Oak Park as a model.
“The village saw what was coming down the pike,” said Janke. “We said we needed to be proactive because merging cultures is a constant challenge. I was born and raised in the Englewood community. I know the disinvestment that took place there, and you can’t permit that to happen.”
Working to dispel rumors
A public relations department was started in the late 1980s. The department publishes a monthly newspaper, South Holland Today, and produces a cable show, “Village Focus,” that, among other things, touts the village’s increasing property values, low crime rate and ongoing efforts to boost the schools. The newspaper and cable show also work to dispel rumors, such as the one a few years ago that said 800 homes in the village were simultaneously on the market.
In addition, South Holland has a home equity assurance program, which helps buttress property values; a board that helps residents settle neighbor disputes; and a committee that gives residents instructions on how to organize block parties.
“The point is we want to encourage people to get to know one another,” Janke said.
But despite efforts aimed at managing diversity, South Holland lost nearly half of the 18,688 non-Hispanic white residents it had in 1990. In general, residents moved to northwest Indiana and to the high growth corridor of southwest Cook and Will Counties, Janke said.
The population gap left by whites in the village has more than been filled by an influx of minorities. Since 1990 South Holland has gained 8,654 black residents, a dramatic increase over the 2,421 blacks that moved to the village between 1980 and 1990. The rest of the minority population is composed of 190 Asians and 836 Hispanics, placing the overall village population at 22,147, just slightly higher than the 1990 census count of 22,105, according to Census data.
“Obviously, there’s a history in place where people see integration as a negative,” said Janke. “We’re trying to turn it into a positive. “
The value of numbers
Tim McNicholas, who has owned South Holland Bowl for more than 30 years, said his business is still adjusting to the town’s changing demographics.
“It’s certainly affected us,” McNicholas said. “We had people who bowled here for 40 years who are gone now.”
He said the departure of the white residents has decimated his regular bowling leagues, the lifeblood of any bowling business. In place of the leagues, he has seen more black families bringing their children to bowl. But that hasn’t made up for the loss, he said, and business has been dropping off since the early 1990s.
“I’m looking for that to change. I do not yet have many adult blacks coming here, and that’s what I need.”
Longtime resident Gertrude Widmer, who has run the village’s monthly blood drive since the 1970s, said she knows there’s been a lot of talk about blacks and whites coming and going. But it hasn’t fazed her. She said she plans to live in the village for the rest of her life.
“I’ll be 79 years old soon, and who knows how much longer I’ll be here,” she said. “I’ve been very happy with South Holland. We don’t have any taverns here and only gas stations and restaurants are open on Sundays. This is a fine town for families.”