Uploaded February 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
I live in a nice middle-class neighborhood in Ann Arbor, one of the most liberal towns in America. It's an amazing place, with big city amenities and a small-town feel. My neighborhood is also entirely white. Which makes sense, because Washtenaw County is the 8th most economically segregated metro area in the entire country, and after centuries of systemic racism, many in the BIPOC population simply can't afford to live here.
My neighbors are Nice White Liberals. There's a sea of yard signs dotting the landscape, talking about how immigrants are welcome here, Black Lives Matter, and that kindness is everything. I believe most of them sincerely mean that. But then, those same neighbors loudly oppose new housing developments or zoning changes to allow for denser housing. They often frame it as wanting to "preserve the neighborhood character" or to "keep our small-town feel". It's all very understandable, I like my neighborhood and the small-town feel as well.
The problem is, a *lot* of people want to live here, and we've spent decades resisting new housing. This has driven prices into the stratosphere, and anyone who can't afford it has a long commute on clogged highways or slow buses. Many other cities are facing the same issues, some to an insane extent like the San Francisco Bay Area where I used to live, with blue-collar workers often forced to commute for hours each day.
Increased density would ease so many of these problems, but expanding single-family zoning to allow for small apartment buildings doesn't play well with many Nice White Liberals, nor does subsidized housing, unless it's in somebody else's backyard. Most of them aren't actively racists, but this mindset serves to perpetuate the systemic racism inherent in the status quo.
It's not enough to not be racist - we need to strive to be anti-racist. We need to move past performative yard signs and to start demanding action, neighborhood character be damned.
Here's a catchy little toe-tapper for you.
--
Lyrics, MP3 and other goodies here: joshwoodward.com/song/NiceWhiteLiberals
joshwoodward.com for 200+ more free songs!
facebook.com/joshwoodwardmusic
twitter.com/joshwoodward
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All of my music is 100% to download, and to use in your videos (Creative Commons - Attribution). Video courtesy Prelinger Archives.
--
"In This House We Believe"
Says the yard sign tucked beneath the cherry tree
And the white picket fence
In a cul-de-sac where children play with friends
All, the nice white liberals
Taking walks on the nice white liberal street
Harry smiles, and a says to Jane,
"I don't see color, everyone's the same"
While Jose, is mowing his grass
He commuted for an hour to earn his scraps
All the nice white liberals
Taking walks on the nice white liberal street
They say intentions paved the road to hell
But I can say we all mean well
Cause I'm a nice white liberal myself
Shane and Brooke, went by on the path
She's got a Black Lives Matter emblem on her mask
She says, "I feel their pain, with all my heart,
Yeah, the poor need homes, just not in my backyard"
[Chorus]
I live in a nice middle-class neighborhood in Ann Arbor, one of the most liberal towns in America. It's an amazing place, with big city amenities and a small-town feel. My neighborhood is also entirely white. Which makes sense, because Washtenaw County is the 8th most economically segregated metro area in the entire country, and after centuries of systemic racism, many in the BIPOC population simply can't afford to live here.
My neighbors are Nice White Liberals. There's a sea of yard signs dotting the landscape, talking about how immigrants are welcome here, Black Lives Matter, and that kindness is everything. I believe most of them sincerely mean that. But then, those same neighbors loudly oppose new housing developments or zoning changes to allow for denser housing. They often frame it as wanting to "preserve the neighborhood character" or to "keep our small-town feel". It's all very understandable, I like my neighborhood and the small-town feel as well.
The problem is, a *lot* of people want to live here, and we've spent decades resisting new housing. This has driven prices into the stratosphere, and anyone who can't afford it has a long commute on clogged highways or slow buses. Many other cities are facing the same issues, some to an insane extent like the San Francisco Bay Area where I used to live, with blue-collar workers often forced to commute for hours each day.
Increased density would ease so many of these problems, but expanding single-family zoning to allow for small apartment buildings doesn't play well with many Nice White Liberals, nor does subsidized housing, unless it's in somebody else's backyard. Most of them aren't actively racists, but this mindset serves to perpetuate the systemic racism inherent in the status quo.
It's not enough to not be racist - we need to strive to be anti-racist. We need to move past performative yard signs and to start demanding action, neighborhood character be damned.
Here's a catchy little toe-tapper for you.
--
Lyrics, MP3 and other goodies here: joshwoodward.com/song/NiceWhiteLiberals
joshwoodward.com for 200+ more free songs!
facebook.com/joshwoodwardmusic
twitter.com/joshwoodward
instagram.com/joshwoodwardmusic
All of my music is 100% to download, and to use in your videos (Creative Commons - Attribution). Video courtesy Prelinger Archives.
--
"In This House We Believe"
Says the yard sign tucked beneath the cherry tree
And the white picket fence
In a cul-de-sac where children play with friends
All, the nice white liberals
Taking walks on the nice white liberal street
Harry smiles, and a says to Jane,
"I don't see color, everyone's the same"
While Jose, is mowing his grass
He commuted for an hour to earn his scraps
All the nice white liberals
Taking walks on the nice white liberal street
They say intentions paved the road to hell
But I can say we all mean well
Cause I'm a nice white liberal myself
Shane and Brooke, went by on the path
She's got a Black Lives Matter emblem on her mask
She says, "I feel their pain, with all my heart,
Yeah, the poor need homes, just not in my backyard"
[Chorus]
