Do you remember redlining? More than likely, you have never even heard of it, but if you did you did not pay any significant attention to it. The sinister implications of this social engineering practice have had consequences since its initial use and persist to this day. Those that choose to belittle the efforts of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives only serve to perpetuate its effects and to ignore the lessons of history that can lead to improved lives for others and for our communities.
What is Redlining? Government home ownership programs were part of the New Deal back in the 1930s.1 Government issued mortgages were part of the program to avoid foreclosures. But additional features were added. Certain areas were deemed of lesser value (less loan worthy) and were marked in red for “internal” purposes. While appraisers would note certain factors (like home values and proximity to industrial areas), the harsh reality that was that these areas were predominantly African American. The government had effectively singled out those areas, and the real estate market cemented the process and effectively isolated a significant segment of society. The borders of these areas therefore “redlined” certain neighborhoods and destined its citizens to substandard housing and so much more.
Neighborhood “redlining” manifests itself by the separation of people and exhibits the harsher broad realities of redlining below. Now into my eighth decade of life, I see some change but not to the degree that we are capable of. Only by acknowledging the lingering effects of redlining can we begin to seek solutions that are worthy of a democratic society.
- Educational “redlining” – The schools in those neighborhoods school were more likely than not inferior to other areas because of the tax base and teacher’s willingness to venture into those areas. These educational disparities still continue to this day.
- Environmental “redlining” – Areas that are isolated, especially in urban areas, are at increased risk for polluted air and water. It is no wonder that the rates of asthma are higher in these areas. One need only remember the contaminated water in Flint Michigan and the toxic effects of lead on the brains of those young children.2 Such a disaster would have been highly unlikely in non-redlined areas.
- Financial “redlining” – Folks living in housing that is undervalued will not be able to pass any significant generational equity to their children, perpetuating a cycle of effective poverty. This pernicious effect lasts for more than one generation. In fact, it continues for multiple generations and is not easily corrected. And it continues generational despair that is too often dismissed in some quarters. The argument that folks in these neighborhoods can just “pull themselves by their bootstraps” ignores the reality of multidimensional redlining.
- Medical “redlining” – We have long provided unequal care for people in certain locations or of a specific ethnicity. We even had formulas to provide care based on race that were totally erroneous, creating unsurmountable barriers.3 The unethical use of the cancer cells from Henrietta Lacks, without her knowledge and for the financial gain of others, dramatically highlights these inequities.4
- Electoral “redlining” – The Voting Rights Act in the 1960s was necessary to erase the intentional and unintentional voter suppression in both urban and rural areas. I would argue that the Supreme Court’s reversal of a key provision of the Voting Rights Act has continued electoral “redlining” and continued unfortunate misrepresentation (through gerrymandering) for African Americans.
- Cultural “redlining” – When folks are restricted to certain areas, their cultural output and its benefits are usually not shared with others and are often belittled as inferior. The diversity of America is therefore not reflected in the arts that we all can share and enjoy.
This discussion above will sound a lot like being “woke” and you are right.5 Recent articles by Nikole Hannah-Jones struck a real chord for me.6,7 The title, Whitewash: the 50-year campaign to undo the progress of the civil rights movement in the name of ‘colorblindness’, clearly states that current attempts to squelch diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are giant steps backward and consistent with modern-day redlining.
She appropriately notes that Martin Luther King, Jr.’s goal of colorblindness is only achievable through race-conscious policies. “A society that has done something special against the Negro for hundreds of years must now do something special for him,” he wrote years after the “Dream” speech. Let me highlight the five take-aways from her articles.
- The affirmative-action ruling could bring about sweeping changes across American society – affirmative action in college admissions seeks to relieve long lasting disparities and to deny such ignores its history.
- Conservatives have co-opted the civil rights language of ‘colorblindness’ – It is naïve and downright objectionable to argue that colorblindness in programs intended to right past wrongs is the only way forward. To say so is to ignore the centuries of color bias that has led to the current problem.
- The Supreme Court’s decision undermines attempts to eliminate racial inequality that descendants of slavery suffer – A doctrine of colorblindness is a de facto way of keeping racial disparities and making them “legal.”
- Affirmative action should not simply be a tool for diversity but should alleviate the particular conditions of descendants of slavery – Affirmative action programs have been attacked, ignoring their origin. They are not simply attempting to satisfy color quotas but to provide redress for long lasting inequities.
- Working toward racial justice is not just the moral thing to do, but it is also crucial to our democracy – Indeed. A democracy that recognizes its past faults and genuinely seeks to correct them is a democracy that understands its duties to its citizens.
So, do you remember redlining? We should recognize its insidious nature and corrosive influence. I argue that it is still present. It exists in multiple spheres – educational, environmental, financial, medical, electoral and cultural to name a few. Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are to be encouraged and supported.8 We can make a difference when we accept our humanity, its failings and its hope for the future.
- https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/17/realestate/what-is-redlining.html
- https://mychildrenschildren.com/a-pediatric-profile-in-courage/
- https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/150/1/e2022057998/186963/Eliminating-Race-Based-Medicine?autologincheck=redirected
- https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02494-z
- https://mychildrenschildren.com/woke-im-in/
- https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/13/magazine/civil-rights-affirmative-action-colorblind.html
- https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/13/magazine/nikole-hannah-jones-colorblind-racial-justice.html
- https://downloads.aap.org/AAP/PDF/Diversity_and_Inclusion_Statement.pdf