Housing discrimination and redlining - During the 20th century, discriminatory policies and practices systematically excluded African Americans from owning homes and having meaningful choice in which neighborhoods to live in. This made it all but impossible to buy property in Black neighborhoods and also nearly impossible for Black people to buy property outside of Black neighborhoods. This effectively meant that Black people could only be renters, but not home owners. Redlining was also used by federal and local governments to disinvest in Black neighborhoods, resulting in disrepair, concentrated poverty, and low property values. These historical policy decisions created the foundation for gentrification, the displacement of Black people and people of color from their homes today as well as the lack of racial diversity in neighborhoods today. Contemporary low rates of Black homeownership are part of this legacy. See EJI’s article about Housing Discrimination and Redlining for more information.
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