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Until 1958, it seems as if everyone felt the solution to High Point's housing shortage in the core community was to build more rental houses, flats, and duplexes.

It was a vicious cycle of build, collect the rent, and watch as those constructed wood-frame "solutions" decayed. This culprit put the core community in a downward spiral over which they had no control.

At its June 3, 1958, meeting, the City Council approved a request by C.C. Edwards and Roger Edwards for the construction of 47 duplex homes in the black community. These duplexes, costing about $7,446 each, were to be built in a three-street configuration along Meredith, Oneka and Carter Streets. According to a local October newspaper report, these two-family houses were to be built in six months.

To some, this may sound as if some knight in shining armor came to the rescue, providing housing for those living in the black community.

Maybe these duplexes did replace some old dilapidated structures. However, the community was still being held hostage by absentee landlords. The terms house, home and hovel were warm, fuzzy words used to silence those in the black community who were pleading for home ownership.

What happened to the excuse that no land was available in the black community for building private homes? Where was the outreach from government and the private sector to provide loans for private homeowners?

These 47 rentals units contributed to the demise of the core city.

Turns out that the 1954 housing and rehabilitation ordinance was not designed to eliminate slums. According to Dick Rigby, writer for the local newspaper, this was an urban-renewal-type project, requiring lots of money, and the ordinance was aimed at holding the line against slums.

"It was aimed at preventing the construction of any more slum type houses," Rigby wrote. For existing homes, the following amenities were required when the ordinance passed: "An enclosed toilet at least on the back porch, screens, at least a cold water tap, a kitchen sink, and adequate electrical facilities. For new homes, the provision of bathing facilities and the establishment of minimum room size were ordered."

The whole process of dealing with dilapidated rental housing was to try to get owners to repair their properties rather than tearing them down. Torn down or not, they were replaced with rental homes rather than offering home ownership.

A report by the building inspector's office showed that between June 1956 and October of 1958, 403 letters were sent out regarding repairing homes; 233 permits to start repairs were granted, and 10 homes were ordered condemned.

Freemen Hill, assistant city building inspector, in charge of administering the new ordinance, said he had to make judgment calls about whether owners were making a sincere effort to make repairs or making token repairs "trying to bluff the city." He felt you had to balance possible personal problems when making demands on renters. He spoke of an 80-year-old couple living their last days on earth in a "virtual shack." "If a get-tough approach was instituted, this couple living on Social Security would have been thrown into the street."

This brings home the plight of a large number of people living within the core community.

There were solutions that could have helped people like this couple, but the solution was one that a segregated High Point didn't want to own up to or deal with at that time.

There were plenty of apartments and homes throughout the city for those who could only afford to rent, but they weren't available to black folks. For example, ads for apartments in the local paper dated Oct. 5:

• 103 Culler Street, 3 rm. house $9/wk.
• 1900 E. Green Street, 5 rm. upstairs apt. with full bath and hot water and wired for electric stove, $40/month.
• 1111 E. Green Street, 3 rm. duplex, $35/mo.
• 410-A Walnut Street, complete bath, hot water, electric connection, $40/mo.
• 402 W. Broad Street, 3 rms., unfurnished, 1st floor, $30/mo.
• 1518 ½ English Rd., 4 rms., $27/mo.

These are just a few of the ads for rooms, apartments and house rentals that day, and there were many more.

The duplex and apartment rentals offered in white neighborhoods had amenities that folks in the black community could only dream of at that time -- steam heat, complete bath, gas heat, gas stove connections, hot water, plastered walls, bathroom and cooking stove.

Compare this to "an enclosed toilet at least on the back porch, screens, at least a cold water tap, a kitchen sink, and adequate electrical facilities."

Blacks lagged behind when it came to fairness. Some landlords, avoiding repairing substandard homes, claimed they didn't want to raise the rent for those living on meager incomes to finance the repairs.

Most of the substandard homes were built prior to 1929 at a cost of $100 to $300. I am not a math whiz, but to me this adds up to someone making lots of money over the years and never reinvesting in their properties.

It is amazing how many folks call themselves Christians but fail to practice Christian values.

Remember the Golden Rule, "All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them."

If only the ethical teachings of Jesus were practiced years ago, members of the core community wouldn't have suffered so long, and race relations would be a lot better today. What would have cost thousands in 1958 will now cost millions to repair today.

And the meter is ticking.

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