Back “Ordeal in Levittown,” David B. Bittan

David B. Bittan (1921-2001)
From Reporting Civil Rights: American Journalism 1941–1973

Sales flyer for new homes in Levittown, PA. The captions read “One of four different styles of the Jubilee . . . the Colonial . . . the Pennsylvanian . . . of the Country Clubber.” Image courtesy of the State Museum of Pennsylvania’s online exhibit on Levittown.

Buying a home has long been considered part of the American dream. In 1957, when William and Daisy Myers purchased a four-year-old home in Levittown, Pennsylvania, at the recommendation of their new next-door neighbor, their dream quickly turned into a nightmare involving riotous mobs, vandalism, death threats, a seriously injured patrolman, and “round-the-clock police guard.” Their story was profiled in Look magazine the following year by one of their new neighbors, Philadelphia Daily News journalist David B. Bittan.

Read “Ordeal in Levittown” by David B. Bittan

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