Historical Context
The Policies and Theories that organized San Jose neighborhoods along racial lines
What is Redlining?
The Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) was a federal agency established under FDR’s New Deal to create classifications of neighborhoods based on desirability and safety. At face value, this would bring the housing market back to life post-Great Depression and give banks a systematic guide to distribute mortgages and funding (primarily among highly rated neighborhoods) (NPR, 2018).
Behind this façade was the reality that neighborhoods were being rated almost entirely by their racial composition, with areas consisting of high minority populations deemed less desirable. A direct quote from a HOLC statement exposes that they were primarily concerned with the “constant threat of undesirable racial infiltration (Urban Displacement website)”. This quickly established a vicious cycle of poverty, with infrastructural investments focused almost exclusively on white neighborhoods -affordable quality housing, well-funded education (through property tax), access to quality nutrition, healthcare clinics, and a multitude of other resources- while neighborhoods composed of minorities were unable to secure loans from banks, leading to disinvestment in these neighborhoods.
Redlining has additionally worked to reinforce a permanent underclass, as the conditions families endure are continued across generations. Redlining worked to embed racism into policy, without explicitly broadcasting this motive, perpetuating racial inequality on a structural level.
San Jose HOLC Map from 1937
Green = A "Best"
Blue = B "Still Desirable"
Yellow = C "Definitely Declining"
Red = D "Hazardous"
Most of the "Best" and "Still Desirable" neighborhoods are concentrated in West San Jose while South and East San Jose are largely composed of "Definitely Declining" and "Hazardous" neighborhoods.
Redlining uses a colorblind framework
Colorblindness encompasses ideologies that "don't see color". This can be misconstrued as a productive mindset in a time when it is no longer condoned to be outwardly racist. In reality, policies and social norms constructed from a colorblind framework entirely overlook the ways in which race and racial discrimination determine life outcomes. Author and activist Ibram X Kendi maintains that the only way to effectively rectify the harms caused by racial inequities is to directly confront racism, not ignore it (2019).
As argued by George Lipsitz in The Sounds of Silence (2019), colorblind ideologies perpetuate the dehumanization of people of color, and "constitute a core component of a long-standing whiteness protection program". Not only does colorblindness evade the reality of racist systems, but it provides an escape hatch away from accountability and action on behalf of white folks.
"Race neutrality preserves white supremacy" (Lipsitz, 2019)
Throughout American history we can find clear examples of colorblind policy and practices:
Three-Fifths Clause of 1787
"Free Persons", indentured servants, and "all other persons" would hold varying representation in the census. It was implied that "free Persons" were white, and people of color comprised all other categories. Slaves were counted as only 3/5 of a person. Through this phrasing, policymakers of this time made the concerted effort to dehumanize people of color and reinforce white supremacy, all without the mention of race.
Plessy v. Ferguson 1896
The "separate but equal" doctrine from Plessy v Ferguson of 1896 made separate schools, public spaces, and facilities for people of color constitutional on the basis of equality. It was later overturned in Brown v. Board of Education when significant evidence was presented that schools for communities of color were significantly worse and underfunded than schools for white children. Separate was not equal. Amidst the Jim Crow era, reversing the damage of racism required more than the introduction of equality, there was a need for targeted supportive policy - equity.
The Constitution of the United States 1787
Our very Constitution is built upon a colorblind framework. On the surface, all land owning men are protected but in actuality it wasn't until the 13th Amendment passed that people of color were explicitly protected. A statement that sounds race inclusive can be used to dehumanize marginalized groups unless these identities are explicitly named and known. This demonstrates how colorblindness is deeply embedded in our culture and is a form of racism.
Redlining is Racism
The designation of neighborhood desirability determined the overall investment and value put into those areas. Without any public mention of race, these practices established national patterns of housing segregation, focusing resources and money on white neighborhoods, while critically neglecting impoverished neighborhoods of color.
We cannot ignore the ways in which this racially-driven practice has harmed the health and well-being of minority communities in the US, the legacy of which can be seen today.
It is not possible to dismantle systems of oppressions, such as redlining, through further colorblind interventions.