Lady in the Lake

Lady in the Lake is set in Baltimore over the course of one year, beginning in the fall of 1965. Consistent with cities across the United States, in the 1960s, the demographic makeup of many neighborhoods once predominantly home to densely clustered ethnic groups (often made up of first- and second-generation European immigrants) began to transform as the population of Black American residents grew. As Maddie observes, Baltimore was in an era of “white flight,” a term that encapsulates the deliberate, large-scale departure of white families from their homes in the wake of the changing racial and ethnic makeup of their neighborhoods; these white families shifted instead into suburbs, which they perceived as safer due to the systemic racism that barred people of color from moving into suburbs. Beginning in the 1950s, the city of Baltimore implemented measures to structure housing in the city. The aim was to promote integration, which would guarantee new and native Black residents of Baltimore access to opportunities for tenancy and ownership of properties from which they had previously been excluded. Despite the city’s efforts, many white people maintained prejudicial attitudes toward areas that were traditionally or increasingly diverse, and these areas remained or became undesirable.