City planners worked to “preserve” Austin’s image by drawing African Americans away from the city center and university areas. Blockbusting became pervasive until the Federal Fair Housing Act was passed in 1968 and made discrimination of underrepresented groups illegal (Blockbusting is the manipulation of a homeowner to sell or rent their home at a lower price by convincing them that minorities are moving into their once segregated neighborhood. Living near Black people was so undesirable that some Austinites would go to extraordinary measures to NOT have to live within proximity. This led to clear racial division within and around the city).