We often read about how in the south desegregation was opposed and how the Little Rock 9 broke barriers, but I was wondering how the northern areas fared. Was it as opposed in those cities as it was in the southern states?
Milwaukee was segregated into the '60s. Although there was not as much outright racism, the Midwest was deeply segregated. If you look at the most segregated cities in the US in terms of housing, Milwaukee, Detroit, and St. Louis are at the top.
The Northern and border states just have as much problems as it was in the South. While the North didn't have had a de jure segregation like the ones in the South, they did institute policies which prevent blacks from having certain rights. Redlining was pretty common throughout America since the establishment of the Federal Housing Administration in 1934 making it possible. In the North, realtors would show places based on race. Banks were in the habit of charging much high interest rates in minority neighborhoods. All this was part of redlining. Just a way to keep those most likely further down the economic scale from ever rising. Keep their property values low, keep their cost of living high, etc. Promises that were given to African-Americans coming up North were also not met. They were mostly confined in ghettos and there was massive unemployment of black youth and much resentment. Also, police forces in these areas, which tended to be white, were seen as enemy occupying forces, and that lowered overall respect for the law.