By Dorothy Chan
The recent surge of support for the Black Lives Matter movement has highlighted the widespread implementation of systemic racism against the Black community in America. One contributor to institutionalized racism is the act of redlining, the past practice of partitioning a city into color-coded sections. Each color represented the desirability of certain areas to be invested in and the probability of being lent mortgages or loans to. Redlining was first implemented after the Great Depression to resolve the housing shortage in America, but at the expense of minorities, especially black communities. It was officially practiced when the National Housing Act of 1934 was passed, which then caused the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to be established to reinforce the policies that actively exacerbated segregation in America’s housing markets. This, in turn, facilitated a “state-sponsored system of segregation,” as author Richard Rothstein labeled it.
One direct consequence of redlining was that it significantly delayed the process of urbanization in redlined areas. BIPOC individuals were forcibly congregated into neighborhoods composed of housing projects, which have historically been associated with negative connotations of poverty and crime. Cities, such as Detroit and Newark, were also deterred from investing in these areas, resulting in the deterioration of public infrastructures such as schools and roads. Not to mention, individuals that lived in these redlined communities were denied basic services such as banking, insurance, and even access to supermarkets. This resulted in declines in property value, declines in literacy rates, and increases in crime rates.
Private lenders took advantage of this situation by participating in a newly introduced practice called predatory lending. They sought out black families who were denied by other banks for financial aid, and convinced them to take out loans with high-interest rates with the intention of leaving them in economic distress. These lenders essentially manipulated this disadvantageous situation for their own economic gain at the expense of the financial well being of many black families.
Redlining was outlawed as a result of the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which initiated the process of desegregation in America’s housing market. As a result of this, neighborhoods began diversifying due to the influx of black families moving into dense white-populated areas.
However, this triggered a phenomenon known as “white flight,” referring to when white families moved from urban areas to suburban areas with the incentive of low-interest rates as cities became more desegregated. However, as white families migrated to other areas, they brought their taxes along with them. So, considering that the newly moved-in black families were unable to make up for the lack of funds as a result of decades of discrimination that stunted their economic mobility, this led to an urban decline in metropolitan areas.
Redlining, despite being outlawed for over 50 years, has caused apparent inequalities in our society that ultimately still make it a relevant issue to discuss today.
One long-lasting effect is the racial wealth gap in America. This stemmed from the fact that black individuals were denied the ability to purchase homes due to redlining. Consequently, they were unable to accumulate generational wealth through property value and equity. Considering that generational wealth is mostly derived from property ownership, it is unsurprising that the black-white economic gap is still unresolved since the Great Depression.
Another effect is the modern-day school to prison pipeline, which is a phenomenon in which students of color, especially black children, are actively pushed out of schools and into juvenile detention centers and prisons. For many, the pipeline starts in underfunded schools lacking adequate resources. This is a commonality seen in many underprivileged black neighborhoods as a result of redlining. Without the availability of basic materials including writing utensils, textbooks, and even guidance counselors, black students are put at a disadvantage. In addition to other factors including zero-tolerance behavioral standard policies and over-policing in predominantly black schools, this leads to disproportionate suspensions, expulsions, and even arrests among black students. Students are then pushed towards detention centers and prisons without an adequate education. Even if given the opportunity to be reintroduced into society, the lack of resources to guide them ultimately counteracts their attempts to do so. From every stage of the school to prison pipeline, black students are constantly disadvantaged solely due to the systemic racism in our country.
Unfortunately, the racial wealth gap and the school to prison pipeline are only two examples of the many racial disparities present in our society. These problems, despite being highlighted by the current Black Lives Matter movement, have mattered for decades prior. It is not enough to reform our country, but to completely dismantle and rebuild our fundamental systems in order to protect those that have been failed by our past and present political leaders and legislative systems.
References
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Gross, Terry. “A 'Forgotten History' Of How The U.S. Government Segregated America.”
National Public Radio, 3 May 2017, www.npr.org/2017/05/03/526655831/a-forgotten-history-of-how-the-u-s-government-segregated-america.
McIntosh, Kriston, et al. “Examining the Black-White Wealth Gap.”, Brookings, 27 Feb. 2020,
www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/02/27/examining-the-black-white-wealth-gap/.
“School-to-Prison Pipeline.” American Civil Liberties Union,
www.aclu.org/issues/juvenile-justice/school-prison-pipeline.
Semuels, Alana. “White Flight Lives on in American Cities.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media
Company, 30 July 2015, www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/07/white-flight-alive-and-well/399980/.
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