Through the 1960s Point Breeze was reported to be a safe, clean, relatively integrated, and self-sufficient neighborhood, with a thriving business district along Point Breeze Avenue. Residents called it "The Breeze." Rising racial tensions, fear of race riots and white flight in the 1960s and 1970s resulted in many businesses moving away, and the neighborhood becoming majority African American. Also at this time, people who could afford it often moved to newer suburban housing, aided by greater ease in commuting by public transit and highways.