Why were american suburbs of the 1950s so heavily segregated? a. african-americans preferred to live in the inner cities. b. residents, brokers, and realtors dealt in contracts and mortgages that barred the sale to non-white residents. c. the federal government required segregated residential neighborhoods. d. all states had laws in place mandating the segregation of residential districts. e. neighborhoods formed around churches, and as long as churches were segregated, suburbs would remain so as well.