Is History Being Replicated?

Housing disparity came from segregation. Segregation was were societal restrictions were put in place limiting the interactions of the Black Community with White American Society. This segregation extended to many areas such as the housing which lead to noticeable differences in how both races are Blacks and whites are housed overall. According to experts in 1933 America faced what it called a housing shortage which means that it did not have the means to provide living quarters for its citizens at the rate at which they were growing. The Federal Government then came up with a plan to increase the available housing while segregating it at the same time. They used a process called “Redlining” in which they outlined districts on loacal maps according to who stated where, outlining Black or mixed areas in red and in some cases refusing to lend loans or aid these areas in any way. While in other cases the gave these areas aggressive loans rates, penalties for early pay offs, and flat out deception at times. To help increase home ownership even more Federal Based programs such as the Home Owner’s Loan Corporation and the Federal Housing Administration were made to encourage home ownership and development of the suburbs by offering Whites loans with cheaper rates and affordable mortgages. This aside with zoning laws according to experts, tended to enforce residential segregation as Whites tended to only sell to other Whites and their neighborhood tended to work in clauses stating no Blacks were allowed in the neighborhood. Meanwhile the Black Area with worse or no loans tended to fall behind quick on payments. This was housing discrimination. A lot of this land would end up seized by the Government or banks. And then under the term Urban Renewal also known as “Slum Clearance” which started in 1950, the Government would then proceed to tear down these once predominately Black areas displacing thousands of Black families to make way for White Communities while shoving the poor disenfranchised Blacks into “affordable housing” or ghettos. This lasted in its entirety from 1933 to 1965 with both the Federal Housing Authority and the Veterans Administration issuing out 120 Billion worth of new housing with a quote of 98% of the money going to Whites. The Fair Housing Act was passed to 1968 as a remedy to this.

​

Fast forward to 57 years and how is housing in America for Blacks? The numbers of suburban Blacks has increased above since the early 1960s, this is true. However, according to statistics from the U.S Censusand Urban.org Blacks are currently so close to the same level and percentage that it is hard to tell there was even any gains. Discriminatory practices allowed banks and lenders to deal unfairly with Black charging more and sometimes deceiving them out right. Today outright deception is not allowed, but Blacks still are buying homes at higher rates than both Whites and Asians. On average Blacks are offered sub-prime or lower loans with higher interest rates despite often qualifying for the same Prime loans given to the White or Asian communities according to Bloomberg.com. The same banks that once took the stance of ignoring the African American Community that sought to now shows an interest in them by way of targeting through commercial practices. And Black renters were also fairing worse than other races according to Black Renters Could afford 16 percent of Rentals in 2017, an excerpt that states that Black could only afford less than 30 percent of rentals on Zillow that Whites and Asians could afford. Matthew Desmond, an assistant professor of Sociology and social studies at University, said” Between 1991 and 2013, the percentage of renter households in America dedicating under 30 percent of their income to housing costs fell from 54 percent to 43 percent. During that same time, the percentage of renter households paying at least half of their income to housing costs rose from 21 percent to 30 percent. African American and Hispanic American families, the majority of whom rent their housing, were disproportionately affected by these trends. In 2013, 23 percent of black renting families and 25 percent of Hispanic renting families spent at least half of their income on housing”. According Metropolitan Decentralization, Transit Dependence, and the Employment Isolation of Central City Black Workers the great majority of metropolitan Blacks remain concentrated in the central cities of the largest statistical areas, despite having the option to move to the suburbs.