What housing practice was used to instill fear in white homeowners by suggesting that Black families moving in would lead to property value declines?

• A. Apartheid
• B. Block Busting
• C. Nationality
• D. Sovereignty

Answer: (B)

Block busting is a tactic where real estate agents persuaded white homeowners to sell quickly by stoking fear that Black families moving into the neighborhood would cause property values to fall. This manufactured panic led to rapid, often coercive selling and helped maintain racial segregation in housing. The tactic preyed on stereotypes about property values and neighborhood desirability, using the threat of decline to prompt turnover before actual market changes occurred.

Apartheid describes a formal system of racial segregation in South Africa, not a housing practice used in this context. Nationality concerns legal membership in a state, and sovereignty refers to a state's ultimate authority—neither captures the specific tactic of inducing fear about property values through racial change.