In the early 1960s, civil rights advocates across the U.S. actively protested the unequal opportunities for African American citizens in regards to education, employment, financing, and housing. The March on Washington in August of 1963 was organized by A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin, who built an alliance of civil rights, labor, and religious organizations that came together under the banner of "jobs and freedom" and culminated in the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

In 1963, meetings of the Greenbelt Citizens for Fair Housing group, concerning matters of integration, sparked heated debates fueled by racism and fears of depreciating house values. (See excerpts from the News Review archives below) In 1967, the Greenbelt City Council directed owners of apartments in Greenbelt to voluntarily adopt nonsegregated rental practices. It wasn't until 1968 that Congress finally passed the Fair Housing Act (the most filibustered legislation in US history) in the aftermath of the April 4, 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the civil unrest across the country following King's death. To the best of our knowledge, African American families began moving into Greenbelt in late 1960s, early 1970s. Controversy over bussing in Prince George’s County around 1972 sparked more debate about race.