Redlining: A Civil Rights Issue
Rochelle is a Black woman living in Philadelphia. Though well-accomplished, Rochelle tried for over a year to buy a home. Time after time, she was rejected. Simultaneously, a White couple received a mortgage loan almost immediately with school loans and low income. Rochelle is not alone in this type of housing discrimination. Rochelle’s mortgage company, Philadelphia Mortgage Advisors, has a history of denying Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) loans. The process of denying loans to BIPOC individuals, such as Rochelle, is a form of redlining. Though the practice of redlining officially became illegal in 1968, with the Fair Housing Act, housing segregation, like redlining, is still heavily practiced today, and its effects are still felt, causing ongoing issues like health issues and unsafe houses. Not having an equal access to clean and safe homes and neighborhoods is a civil rights issue that needs to be rectified.
Background of Redlining
Racism has existed since the forming of the United States. Slavery, for example, created over 6 million slaves from 1790 to 1862. School segregation began in 1887 with Jim Crow laws and continues to the mid-50s with the passage of Brown v. Board of Segregation. Further, microaggressions, or “thinly veiled, everyday instances of racism, homophobia, sexism (and more), unfortunately exist. Many forms of racism and segregation persist, and one constant form of racism has been residential segregation.
For instance, about 50 years after slavery ended, racism continued, and local governments practiced housing segregation through exclusionary zoning laws. The laws prohibited the sale of property to Black people. The laws were deemed unconstitutional in 1917 yet switched to racially restrictive covenants. These were agreements between property owners to not sell homes to certain racial groups, like Black or Brown individuals. When these covenants were also found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1947, the damage had spread too far. By 1940, 80% of Chicago and Los Angeles neighborhoods still carried racially restrictive covenants, and redlining began.
After the Great Depression, the United States experienced significant financial vulnerability. To rectify this, Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced the New Deal programs. Part of the New Deal was the National Housing Act of 1934. This Act created the 30-year mortgage and encouraged low fixed mortgage rates. Ideally, this would help low-income individuals buy homes easier. Nevertheless, this was not the case. For example, Beatrix Lockwood explains to us in her articles that “It took advantage of racially restrictive covenants and insisted that the properties they insured use them. A part of this Act was the introduction of redlining.
The Federal Home Loan Corporation was also formed under the New Deal. This sectioned off some metropolitan regions with red lines to tell bankers where to not loan to due to creditworthiness. Initially, credit scores were introduced as an unbiased way to give out loans, a number instead of a person. For example, loan officers would turn people down due to the color of their skin, so they wanted just a number instead of seeing the person. It was an attempt to eliminate the outright racist practice. However, credit scores proved to be biased too. The formula they used to make credit scores is discriminatory. For example, if someone has the privilege of owning a home and paid on the mortgage, the credit score goes up. However, on the other side, it does not go up if you pay on rent. It only reports it if you miss a rent payment, and your score goes down. NPR explains this, “An example of this is the persisting disparity in home mortgage loan approvals for Black and Hispanic applicants. White financial institutions disavow intentional discrimination by pointing to differences in credit histories, the creditworthiness of individual Black and Hispanic applicants have been impacted by systemic discrimination against the group.”
Therefore, due to past and continued segregation, credit histories, and more, the government began implementing redlining. The government believed it was a way to help them financially, but instead, it was just another way to continue housing segregation. The residential Security maps created by the HOLC were:
Due to systematic and institutionalized practices already in place, many large metropolitan areas, like Philadelphia or Detroit, were often populated mostly by BIPOC. This practice of redlining has concentrated these communities into communities of poverty. Because these communities have high poverty, they have less access to necessary things like supermarkets, doctors, and health access. Though redlining has become illegal, making the maps of designated areas gone, the lines of disparity are still intact.
Fair Housing Act
Two standard practices to measure segregation have been through the index of dissimilarity and the isolation index. The index of dissimilarity compares housing areas based on race to understand their segregation. For instance, “The former index measures the degree to which blacks and whites are unevenly distributed across neighborhoods and equals zero when each neighborhood replicates the racial composition of the city as a whole and 100 when blacks and whites share no neighborhood in common. In 1968, the average black–white dissimilarity index stood at around 78, and the black isolation index was 66. The isolation index was similar. The isolation index measures “the extent to which minority members are exposed only to one another.”
Racism was too high, and there were statistics to prove it. Civil rights activists took this data and desired change, especially housing segregation. Further, the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968 spiked civil unrest. This blatant Act of racism- increased anger among African Americans and desired immediate policies to rectify it.
Therefore, as an action for change, and only a week after the murder of Martin Luther King Jr., The Fair Housing Act of 1968 was enacted. The Act prohibited an end to discrimination in housing. Subsequently, the Act made the process of redlining illegal. It was supposed to create equal housing opportunities for individuals and increase housing protection for individuals already with homes. However, the Fair Housing Act was only a first step to fix the decades of housing segregation. For example, though it banned racial discrimination in the sale and rental of housing, it did not restrict discriminatory mortgage lending. Moreover, it has done little to fix the damage already done. In fact, since the 50+ years it has been an act, it is hardly enforced.
Examples of Housing Segregation Today
Though illegal, redlining still exists. Just like racially restrictive covenants, redlining policies have been difficult to rectify and continue today. For instance, in 2010, Black individuals remained segregated in 21 cities comprising Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, New York, and many more. Megan Knize cites in her paper, Discriminatory lending, denial rates for loans to Black people in Mississippi, to be disproportionate compared to any racial discrepancy in credit score history. The data shows how these individual have not been treated in a fair or ethical way.
Another example was found in 2010 when a New York Times article exposed Wells Fargo’s housing segregation policies. The United States Justice Department started an investigation and found that Wells Fargo had used procedures to restrict loans to certain racial groups. The Times reported that loan officers had referred to their Black customers as “mud people,” and to the subprime loans, they pushed on the “ghetto loans.” Like with Rochelle’s experience, these discriminatory practices continue today, leaving vulnerable populations to continue fighting for social justice and fair practices. In fact, over the last 30 years, 98% of loans have been provided to White individuals. Therefore, these individuals to not have the same access to clean and safe homes.
Effects of Redlining
Effects of redlining include access to food and clean water, wealth, schooling, and health. One of the effects of redlining is Spatial Supermarket Redlining, or when supermarket chains move their stores from more impoverished, inner-city neighborhoods to wealthy suburbs. Consequently, individuals have less access to food. This limited access to food, increasing food inaccessibility, and decreasing health. Torey Edmonds, a long-time resident and Black woman of Richmond, Virginia, explains that in her neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia. The poverty rate of her neighborhood is around 60%. In the 1970s, grocery stores began moving out of the area, along with movie theaters and beauty salons. The only stores that remain are small corner shops that sell “no real food.”
Red neighborhoods have not had fair access to schooling because the property values of the houses are lower. Property taxes fund schools: lower property taxes means lower funding for schools, lower funding for teachers, and fewer resources than enhance academic success for students. The health implications from those living in red neighborhoods continue. Redlining made it also challenging to refinance homes. Therefore, a lack of investment in the property increases the probability houses would fall into disrepair. Their houses are prone to crumbling, toxic paint, mold, lead, and more. They have higher rates of cancer, asthma, and heart disease. Torey Edmonds has found, “if the bank’s not loaning, then things deteriorate.” Torey further explains that many of her neighbors suffer from chronic medical conditions like kidney disease and diabetes. This pattern exists throughout the nation. “People who live in neighborhoods that were once subjected to a discriminatory lending practice called redlining are today more likely to experience shorter life spans — sometimes, as much as 20 or 30 years shorter than other neighborhoods in the same city.”
The health effects of redlining are substantial. For example, environmental racism is an example of the adverse effects of redlining. “Environmental racism refers to any act that results in disproportionate effects of environmentally hazardous conditions on communities of color.” Redlined neighborhoods are more likely to be near industrial plants. For example, recently, in Salt Lake City, Utah, an inland port, or dry port, was presented to be built in Salt Lake City’s West Side, a red neighborhood. An inland port is a logistics and distribution hub inland from coastal seaports… “The Utah Inland Port area is one of the few remaining undeveloped areas of Salt Lake puts the area in high demand for expanding warehouse, distribution, and manufacturing…creating the need for more jobs and for greater ability to move people and goods.” Not only will the port significantly increase Salt Lake City’s carbon footprint, but the area is far from ‘undeveloped’ like the Utah Inland Port Authority wants people to believe. Many minorities are living in that area. They will experience the environmental damage, dirty air, and pollution that come with the Inland Port.
The Inland Port will take place in the northwest quadrant of Utah, near the Great Salt Lake. “The port site will envelop significant portions…of West Valley City and Magna…people of color make up about 21 percent of Utah’s population and 27.9 percent of Salt Lake County’s population. In comparison, people of color make up 53.2 percent of West Valley City’s population and 36.4 percent of Magna’s population. The implications of the port are even worse considering that residents of the area are already disproportionately burdened with pollution from refineries and traffic.” As of now, debates and conversations are continued, with many people continuing to cite the racism underlying its location.
Redlining has increased mental illness concerns for individuals. People of color have a highly disproportionate mental illness rate and a lack of resources to mitigate those illnesses. In 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic, the average percent of the population with mental health issues was 14.8%.
The drastic and damaging effects that marginalized people and communities face due to housing segregation, such as increased mental and physical health issues, are unethical and unfair. All people deserve equal protection, especially those people who have been continually oppressed and discriminated against.
Redlining and COVID
These health risks are especially pertinent today, while the effects of COVID are high impact socially vulnerable BIPOC populations. For instance, “These communities are recognized as having a high social vulnerability, meaning that they have a decreased capability to withstand natural and human-created disasters because of their more limited resources.” This decreased capability to withstand natural and human-created disasters is not their choice or due to their actions. Instead, it is because society’s racism and oppression created limited resources and access to help. Consequently, BIPOC has disproportionately been affected or died from COVID-19. For instance, Indigenous Americas have the highest COVID-19 mortality rates, and BIPOC is twice as likely to die from COVID-19 than White Americans.
The director of the NRCR, Jason Richardson, states, “That’s a startling revelation, that this global pandemic is going to have a more serious impact on communities that were redlined by official policy in the 1930s.” This area of Richmond, Virginia, where Torey Edmonds lives, had the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Richmond at a certain point.
According to the NRCR, the history of redlining and housing segregation has resulted in the current neighborhood and housing decline and profoundly impacted those with preexisting conditions during COVID-19 (Richardson, Mitchell, Meier, Lynch, and Edlebi, 2020). These individuals are more likely to work in low-paid, essential work, increasing their chances of getting the virus. The increased risk of adverse health impacts is unfortunately not met with an increase in health-promoting solutions. There is a lack of green spaces, parks, more factories, fewer doctor’s offices, and hospitals. Where we live impacts our exposure to health-promoting resources and opportunities,” states Helen Meier, an epidemiologist at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In short, COVID-19 has exasperated the already dangerous situations BIPOC face.
Rectifying the problem
The issue of housing segregation is a civil rights issue. All people should have fair and equal access to housing and health regardless of race or ethnicity. However, due to institutionalized, structural, and systematic racism, that has not been the case. Racism is multi-dimensional and interlocking. It has been heavily ingrained in our society, making it difficult to eradicate through isolated policy solutions.
Nevertheless, to stop housing segregation, one must stop racism. Politicians, like Salt Lake City’s mayor, Erin Mendenhall, have tried to help. Mendenhall plans to increase green spaces on the city’s west side. Citizens have fought to stop the production of the inland port. Organizations like the National Fair Housing Associate have fought to mitigate these issues. Perhaps the most effective way to help end residential discrimination is through the Critical Race Theory lens, introduced by Derek Bell. The Critical Race Theory looks at issues (political, social, economic) through a race theory.
David Rosenbloom, a public administrator author, has implemented the Critical Race Theory in his discussions. He states, “the political approach to public administration stresses the values of representativeness, political responsiveness, and accountability through elected officials to the citizenry. These are viewed as crucial to the maintenance of constitutional democracy.” By electing leaders, representatives, and politicians, one is electing public administrates over the nation. These leaders needed to use the Critical Race Theory as they lead.
Brandi Blessett further describes a public administrator’s role with urban renewal programs while implementing Critical Race Theory. She states, “Public administration as a discipline and profession must fully consider the long-term implications of reproducing disparity. This requires analysis of history, race, voice, and an appreciation of the varied interpretation of administrative decisions. Integrating a race-conscious approach to public management and decision-making will help actualize social equity and work to eliminate racially disparate outcomes.”
Furthering this, counter storytelling introduced by the Critical Race Theory is explained in Delgado et al.’s book, A Critical Race Theory, An Introduction. Critical writers use counter storytelling to challenge, change, and correct false narratives that are far too often presented against marginalized groups and individuals. Marginalized individuals are not heard to a necessary level. To help rectify racism issues, people need to listen to stories from the people most affected by them. Hearing these stories builds empathy, encouraging people to act. Storytelling validates the perspective of Color. “One premise of legal storytelling is that members of this country’s dominant racial group cannot easily grasp what it is like to be non-white.” By hearing the stories of individuals most impacted by bigoted remarks, policies, and actions, we can better understand the prevalence of those damaging narratives in society address them.
Opposition and Limitations
Redlining maps were not digitized until 2016. Therefore, some research on segregation and disadvantages due to redlining is somewhat new since then. COVID-19 is also new within the last year and a half. Some may argue that due to the information’s novelty, it cannot be substantiated that things like preexisting health conditions are from a different cause and not housing segregation. However, the current data and statistics unquestionably prove the disproportionate effects of COVID on BIPOC due long-time and continued segregation issues.
For instance, Barber et al. examined racial residential segregation and COVID cases in Philadelphia and found historical practices of redlining and other forms of racial segregation have established the physical, economic, and social conditions that increase racial inequities COVID-19. “Structural racism embedded in our interlocking social, legal, economic, and political systems interact to drive a disproportionate prevalence of COVID-19 infection, transmission, and mortality in Black communities.
Their results showed that Philadelphia’s most segregated neighborhoods were more likely to have structural susceptibility to COVID-19. Further, COVID-19 cases in the five most segregated areas, ones that had been labeled “red,” were twice more than the COVID-19 cases in the five least segregated neighborhoods. “These findings suggest that segregation acts as a structural driver of racial inequities in Philadelphia and calls for both short- and long-term solutions that center structural racism and health equity in the COVID-19 response.” Though change does not happen immediately, it must start now.
Conclusion
Racism is not new, and the practice of redlining and housing segregation is a destructive example of it. Housing segregation policies and programs have existed that have forced BIPOC into crumbling and unsafe areas and mortgage and financial companies have continually denied these people loans. Since March 2020. COVID-19 has only exacerbated the damaging effects, including, mental, physical, and educational health. Therefore, housing segregation is a civil rights issue affecting vulnerable populations that needs to be mitigated.
Although laws like the The Fair Housing Act were introduced, they have often not been enforced and housing segregation continues. It is pertinent to keep fighting to rectify these issues through tools found with the Critical Race Theory like story-telling that increase empathy and education. As Dr. Brandi Blessett — a scholar who has examined redlining — states:
These actions will not produce immediate results, but a level of intentionality is needed to begin rectifying generations of wrongdoing — institutionally and professionally…The imperative moving forward is..to be knowledgeable about, considerate of, and responsive to the needs of all people, but especially those that have and continued to be marginalized by doing what has always been done.
With intentionality, knowledge, consideration from policy makers, politicians, and all people, these issues can be rectified and people can be protected.
