As participants in the racial justice movement, my team and I feel compelled to democratize and build upon the work that we have done over time for engagements. This one is a brief insight into Redlining - an example of systemic racism which perpetuated segregation and inequality in America. Attached analysis, the second of many I hope, is not designed to be comprehensive, nor is it new information. It's a snapshot, a reminder to play a part, however small or imperfect, in advancing the anti-racism movement. It's built upon publicly available information and it belongs to the public. Feel free to use any of the data in your work. Meanwhile I welcome your thoughts, direction, content, ideas, resources, collaboration, all of the above. #justice #antiracism On a personal note, I love staring at maps. If you live in the US, I encourage you to find historical Redlined maps of your community (many of them are archived by National Community Reinvestment Coalition). Turns out I live on a previously Redlined street, and you might too.

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Redlining: An Example of Systemic Racism
• Redlining is the practice of racial discrimination such as denying, adding artificial
barriers or charging more for any services including lending, banking, insurance,
healthcare, or residency.
• The term refers to the practice of finance providers such as mortgage lenders, of
drawing red lines around portions of a map to indicate areas or neighborhoods in
which they did not want to provide financing.
• As an example, in 1930s, the Home Owners Loan Corp drew lines around
neighborhoods in cities across the country to indicate their desirability. To the
right is a redlined map of Brooklyn in New York City.
• Green = First Grade or Grade A, “Best”
• Blue=Second Grade or Grade B, “Still Desirable”
• Yellow=Third Grade or Grade C, “Definitely Declining”
• Red = Fourth Grade or Grade D, “Hazardous”
• Neighborhoods with racial minorities, especially African Americans in the case of
Brooklyn, were appraised as “hazardous” and “declining” and those with
predominantly White demographics “desirable” and “best.”
• Redlining helped codify racial discrimination into official business. Redlining
helped legitimize racist practices around real estate, access to credit and capital,
public-works such as transportation and health, private investments such as
shops and daily services, economic opportunities, and resources associated with
property value such as public schooling and infrastructure, just to name a few.
A Redlined Map of Brooklyn, 1938
Sources:
• "Federal Fair Lending Regulations and Statutes, Fair Housing Act." Compliance Handbook. U.S. Federal Reserve,
Web. https://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/supmanual/cch/fair_lend_fhact.pdf
• National Community Reinvestment Coalition

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• Redlining helped design our residential systems to keep communities of
color under-resourced and under-served. As resources concentrated in
predominantly White neighborhoods, underinvestment and neglect led
to concentrated poverty in minority neighborhoods.
• Redlining was a predatory tool to perpetuate racial inequality. Between
1930s and 1970s, when homeownership rose in America as an avenue
for economic mobility, minority homeownership faced crippling barriers
and inequality widened at an accelerated pace along racial lines.
• Redlined maps became self-fulfilling prophesies for growing inequality, as
racial minorities were confined to Redlined neighborhoods, and
neighborhoods with racial minorities were marked “hazardous” and
“undesirable,” thus starved of investment.
• It wasn’t until 1968, merely 52 years ago, that Redlining practices were
declared unlawful by the Fair Housing Act (FHAct), as part of the Civil
Rights Act of 1968.1 Even so, discriminatory practices and biased
narratives continued.
• The hard work of rooting out segregation is ongoing. Today many
American cities continue to have racially segregated communities,
shaped by a history of predatory practices such as Redlining.
Why it’s important to know about Redlining
1Fair Housing Act (FHAct) made it unlawful for any lender to discriminate in its housing-related lending
activities against any person because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, handicap, or familial
status. Anyone who is in the business of providing housing-related loans is subject to the FHAct (as
well as the Equal Credit Opportunity Act).
Redlining is an example of systemic racism, which played a part in sustained segregation and growing inequality.
Redlining was legal until 1968; systemic racism is not a distant past but rather a current reality.
Sources:
• Photos: top left harvardcrcl.org; top right seattle.gov; bottom left WBEZ Chicago; bottom right The Chicago Sun
• “The Effects of the 1930s HOLC “Redlining Maps” by D. Aaronson, D. Hartley, B. Mazumder
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/24/upshot/how-redlinings-racist-effects-lasted-for-decades.html

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Lasting Effects of Systemic Racism: Example of Chicago
Cermak Road
1
3
2
$19,932
Englewood median
household
income.2
$28,091 N & S
Lawndales median
household income.
$92,714
Lincoln Park
median
household
income
Northside
South Side
West Side
- “South of Cermak,” with predominantly African American neighborhoods
including Bronzeville, Woodlawn, Englewood, Hyde Park
- Restrictive policies dating back to the Great Migration1 barred African
Americans from moving outside the historic Black Belt (today’s Bronzeville) until
1940s
- Redlining denied African Americans housing loans for other neighborhoods,
forcing them into specific geographies that were neglected by the city and
starved of investment. Black Americans in Chicago, like in many other cities, also
faced several other predatory housing practices such as Contract Buying2 and
BlockBusting which robbed Black Americans from wealth building.
1
2
3
- Predominantly minority neighborhoods, several of which are Hispanic/Latinx,
others African Americans
- Waves of Mexican immigration during WWII in manufacturing, settled in West
Side in industrial zone
- Neighborhoods include N Lawndale, S Lawndale and Humboldt Park
- Much of Chicago’s economy, transportation and wealth is concentrated in the
northern section.
- This part of Chicago tends to be White (non-hispanic) and higher income.
- White individuals did not face racial discrimination in obtaining financing, to
settle in the Northern neighborhoods and invest in their communities.
Sources: "Racial Wealth Divide in Chicago," Racial Wealth Divide Initiative. Prosperity Now, January 2017.
Web. https://prosperitynow.org/files/PDFs/profiles/Racial_Wealth_Divide_in_Chicago_RWDI.pdf;
American Community Survey; Census Bureau
1The Great migration in the US refers to the relocation of over 6 Million African Americas from rural South
to the cities of the North, Midwest and West, ranging roughly from 1916 to 1970s.
Decades later, we see the ramifications of racist practices such as Redlining
in sustained segregation and income disparities.
Chicago

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Lasting Effects of Systemic Racism: Example of Washington D.C.
Decades later, we see the ramifications of racist practices such as Redlining
in sustained segregation and income disparities.
Washington DC WardsRace and geography
White
Black/African American
Hispanic
Potomac River
Anacostia River
$70,848k median
$0k $250k
East of the River:
Wards 7, 8
Median household
income in Washington
Highlands: $29,0002
Median household
income in Spring
Valley: >200,000.2
Median Household
Income, 2015 ACS
estimates
• In D.C., Wards 7 and 8, home to predominantly Black/African American communities, were starved of investment for decades1
• Banks in D.C., like in many other American cities, often lent to low-income White applicants, while denying higher income African Americans
Sources: The Urban Institute, 2015; ESRI Living Atlas map and analysis using U.S. Census Bureau data; D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute, 2016; Wards 7 and 8 comprise 41 total neighborhoods.