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On Dec. 21, 1954, High Point City Council passed the housing and rehabilitation ordinance, which provided for the repair and elimination of unfit housing in the city.

A Jan. 1, 1956, headline announced: "City Hall Cracks Down on Poor Living Conditions in High Point." After years of denial and turning a blind eye to the accepted, oppressive behavior of some landlords, High Point's government finally did its job.

The ordinance had been on the books for two years, but up to this point was rarely enforced. It seems the city was either afraid to go up against certain people or just didn't care about those living in the core city.

According to the Jan. 1 news column, the ordinance required "every dwelling inside the city to have running water, an indoor toilet, electricity and a sink in the kitchen."

I know you are shaking your head in disbelief, but most folk in the core community, living in rental homes or duplexes, could only dream of these simple luxuries.

In 1956, after blowing the dust off the housing and rehabilitation ordinance and finding the courage to enforce it, letters were sent to 11 landlords, telling them to bring about 30 houses and duplexes up to the new standards or they would be demolished. Two houses -- 1314 E. Commerce St. and 219 Reed St. -- were ordered removed or torn down within 30 days.

The following are the houses and owners who were ordered to bring their rental properties up to current standards:

l Mrs. T.F. Saunders, 225 Reed St.;

l Mrs. C.C. Edwards, 211 Reed St. and 213 Reed St. (duplex);

l H.H. LeMon, 523 Leonard St.;

l Lester M. Allen, of Greensboro, 228 Reed St.;

l W.W. Horton, 237 Reed St., 229 Reed St., 231 Reed St. and 607 Commerce St.;

l Ora K. Martin, 206 Reed St. (duplex), 208 Reed St., 216 Reed St. (duplex), 218 Reed St., 220 Reed St., 514 Leonard St., 516 Leonard St., 518 Leonard St. and 510 Leonard St.;

l Mrs. D.T. Yow, 205 Reed St. (duplex);

l R.E. Vail, of Spencer, N.C., 203 Reed St. (duplex);

l W.C. Vail, 207 Reed St. (duplex), 600 Leonard St. (duplex), 602 Leonard St., 604 Leonard St. (duplex), 606 Leonard St., 608 Leonard St., 610 Leonard St. and 202 Bynum St. (duplex).

Years ago, I wrote a story about Daniel Brooks Homes being built to replace the Jack's Row slum area in the '30s. During my research, I found the names of members of the black community who owned some of those dilapidated rental houses.

Once again, I am hit right between the eyes with the realization that my own people were perpetuating slum housing in 1956. Of the 11 landlords sent letters, three were respected members of the black community. They owned 11 of the rentals. Martin, daughter of Nannie Kilby and wife of Dr. Joseph Martin, was the biggest offender with nine houses; Saunders owned one; and LeMon one.

I checked my book of deeds and, sure enough, Nannie and John Kilby bought lots of property on Reed and Leonard, which daughter Ora later inherited.

It saddens me to know members of my own community would let anyone, much less their own people, live in substandard houses until they decayed.

How long would these 11 landlords have let people live without running water, a kitchen sink, indoor toilet, electric lights and facilities for providing heat had the city not forced them?

Based on how long these houses had been in this condition, I would say forever.

Headline in the local newspaper Jan. 10, 1956: "Property Owners Protest Action By City In Condemning Houses."

W.W. Horton was among seven who filed appeals with inspector A.R. Strange in regard to condemnation action taken against 30 local dwellings.

Horton's letter to the local paper answers lots of question regarding the plight of the early core community. "We landlords have no initiative to spend money for people who have no regard for cleanliness, or respect for property," Horton declared. "We feel that city officials should force these people (the tenants) to clean up or get out of town, before they lash out at us with their house cleaning demands."

Horton's letter illustrates what many landlords felt about black folk. It's as if refusing to fix properties was punishment for tenant damage. If the property was rented by five different people over time, and the first person damaged the property in some way, the other four suffered because of it. Logic like this definitely did nothing to improve conditions in the core community and race relations.

If you never had inside plumbing and had to carry water from an outside faucet or well, you probably didn't have the cleanest house in the community. If you had no sink in the kitchen, how can you be accused of damaging something you never had? If you had no inside toilet, you had no toilet to damage. If you had no electricity, you had no switches or fixtures to damage.

Horton's rant had no foundation and clearly points out how some put money before the well being of others. The core community had lots of help keeping people in what amounted to legal bondage, from landlords inside and outside the community.

Poor, helpless people, forced to live in squalor, citizens of High Point, far removed from the American dream and the promise of a better tomorrow.

Glenn Chavis researches and writes about High Point's black history. Contact him at Storytime40@aol.com .