NATIONAL CONTEXT
Redlining was present in the majority of the U.S. It impacted the U.S in terms of housing nationwide. After the FHA was passed, many low income minority communities were affected. They could not receive financial support in order to improve their communities and in my opinion, redlining was a way to keep Whites, Blacks and Latinos segregated. “Black and Hispanic applicants were rejected for mortgage loans in significantly higher proportions than white applicants”(Fair Housing, 2015). As a result of redlining and other causes, today segregation still plays a major role in societies. For example, a person recalled that her professor was African American and had just moved to Memphis in 2012, looking for houses on the East side of Memphis next to good public schools. She mentioned this to the real estate agent and the agent steered her to the Southside of Memphis and she was told she would be “more comfortable” in those areas. This is also a form of discrimination, but essentially this was what real estate agents in the mid 1900’s did when redlining was allowed. It was not only discrimination towards people of color, but they were encouraged to live among people of the same color. I strongly believe that this reinforcement by real estate agents ultimately allowed them to control who lived where which lead to segregation.
In addition to segregation and discrimination today, vacancy is also a long term effect that is more visible in the streets of Detroit today because properties deteriorated from lack of urban renewal. In order to overturn redlining, there were groups like the Citizens Action group raising awareness on the issue and protesting throughout the United States. They were successful in persuading congress to pass the Community Reinvestment Act. This act prohibited redlining, but now the consequences are what remain till this day. Other countries practiced redlining to an extreme in which people were literally secluded by barricades from others. However, this was also on a national level. In the 19th century, Native Americans were banned from living in Seattle. They could not even live in apartments in Seattle. According to an article in Seattle magazine, “Real estate agents and lenders used ‘redlining’ to draw racial boundaries.” The city then became segregated with 92 percent of Seattle’s inhabitants being white and 90 percent of African Americans being relocated to the Central District and Native Americans being banned from living there. This is such a bigoted event because we can clearly see that people were isolated which is completely inconceivable to me. A roof over our heads is vital for people to make a living and without a home it becomes nearly impossible to have a good healthy life.
Today, Native Americans live on reservations. It is not uncommon for 3 or more [Native American] generations to live in a two bedroom home with inadequate plumbing, kitchen facilities, cooling and heating”(Native American Aid, 2015). People here have it even worse than redlining. The inadequate housing conditions are a part of redlining, but the fact 3 generations live in a two bedroom home is definitely problematical and hard hitting on the Native Americans. The Native Americans experienced much more than redlining. They experienced more than just losing their homes and being relocated to the Western part of the U.S. Most of all they lost their home which was once the U.S. Now the U.S is an impediment to their lives and they don’t even have the right to land. Thousands of years later, they were still being banned to live in certain places for example Seattle in the early 1990’s. I consider this to be not only redlining, but an extreme drastic measure of redlining. Although the practice of placing people on reservations is not seen as defiant or even called redlining, people were deprived from owning not only homes, but land which is essentially what redlining was after all.
In addition to segregation and discrimination today, vacancy is also a long term effect that is more visible in the streets of Detroit today because properties deteriorated from lack of urban renewal. In order to overturn redlining, there were groups like the Citizens Action group raising awareness on the issue and protesting throughout the United States. They were successful in persuading congress to pass the Community Reinvestment Act. This act prohibited redlining, but now the consequences are what remain till this day. Other countries practiced redlining to an extreme in which people were literally secluded by barricades from others. However, this was also on a national level. In the 19th century, Native Americans were banned from living in Seattle. They could not even live in apartments in Seattle. According to an article in Seattle magazine, “Real estate agents and lenders used ‘redlining’ to draw racial boundaries.” The city then became segregated with 92 percent of Seattle’s inhabitants being white and 90 percent of African Americans being relocated to the Central District and Native Americans being banned from living there. This is such a bigoted event because we can clearly see that people were isolated which is completely inconceivable to me. A roof over our heads is vital for people to make a living and without a home it becomes nearly impossible to have a good healthy life.
Today, Native Americans live on reservations. It is not uncommon for 3 or more [Native American] generations to live in a two bedroom home with inadequate plumbing, kitchen facilities, cooling and heating”(Native American Aid, 2015). People here have it even worse than redlining. The inadequate housing conditions are a part of redlining, but the fact 3 generations live in a two bedroom home is definitely problematical and hard hitting on the Native Americans. The Native Americans experienced much more than redlining. They experienced more than just losing their homes and being relocated to the Western part of the U.S. Most of all they lost their home which was once the U.S. Now the U.S is an impediment to their lives and they don’t even have the right to land. Thousands of years later, they were still being banned to live in certain places for example Seattle in the early 1990’s. I consider this to be not only redlining, but an extreme drastic measure of redlining. Although the practice of placing people on reservations is not seen as defiant or even called redlining, people were deprived from owning not only homes, but land which is essentially what redlining was after all.