Profs and Pints Online presents: “The Truth Behind White Picket Fences,” a look at racism and other harsh realities in the idealized 1950s American suburb, with Allen Pietrobon, assistant professor of Global Affairs at Trinity Washington University.

The 1950s are often remembered in an idyllic and nostalgic way, sparking images of a single-family home in a leafy suburban neighborhood. Backyard barbeques and white picket fences. An American-built car in the driveway. The perfect picture of the American dream.

It’s easy to understand how some people long for that era. After all, the country was globally respected, the economy boomed, and an abundance of well-paid industrial jobs grew the middle-class. Life was safe and pleasant in the newly built suburbs which had seemed to sprout up from farmlands overnight. About 15 percent of the population, or 20 million Americans, had moved from cities to suburban homes in places like Glenmont, Md., or Levittown, Pa., marking one of the largest migrations in American history.

But in addition to being advertised as welcome, friendly, and safe, the 1950s suburban neighborhood also was billed as white. This suburban ideal embodied the reality of racial division in postwar America. As a matter of government policy, African-Americans were largely barred from purchasing such suburban homes.

In a period when cities emptied of whites, “urban” became synonymous with “black,” and city centers were viewed as rife with poverty, drugs and crime. The suburbs became a prime battleground for civil-rights activists.

How and why did the unique form of suburban living first arise in America? What are the legacies of the suburbs and how did they shape American politics, culture, race relations, and gender dynamics? What can we learn about our ideas about the 1950s and how they continue to impact American culture and politics today?

Considering how the “ideal” of the suburbs continues to invoke deep-seated notions of race, class, and gender, why do so many Americans remember such communities so fondly?

Explore such questions with Allen Pietrobon, a historian of the post-Civil-War United States who previously has given great online talks on America and pandemics, the great American road trip, the Gilded Age, and Prohibition.

Profs & Pints Online: The Truth Behind White Picket Fences