Moving to Mobility: A Philanthropic History of Housing Policy “After” Civil Rights

Research on efforts to create economic mobility has focused on barriers to opportunity and programs and policies that might reduce these barriers. However, research has not examined questions regarding how “mobility” became a central lens for addressing economic and social inequality. Historian Claire Dunning will explore how and why some private foundations turned to housing policy as a tool of economic and social mobility after the passage of civil rights legislation in the 1960s, as well as the consequences of those funding choices. She will conduct archival research for her study.