Redlining was a discriminatory practice that significantly impacted neighborhoods across the United States. It involved ranking neighborhoods based on their perceived risk, from “A” (least risky) to “D” (most risky). Federal authorities designated “D” areas as high-risk zones where property values were expected to decline. These areas were marked in red on maps, hence the term “redlining,” signaling their unsuitability for homeownership and lending programs. Crucially, these “D” areas were predominantly neighborhoods where Black residents lived.
These redlining maps, though kept internal by the federal government and not publicly released, had profound consequences. Black homeowners in redlined areas were effectively denied access to government-backed home loans. This discriminatory practice hindered their ability to build wealth and contributed to housing segregation. The term “redlining” gained prominence during the Civil Rights movement, especially leading up to the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which outlawed housing discrimination, and the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975, which mandated the disclosure of lending data.
In 1976, historian Kenneth T. Jackson unearthed one of these government redlining maps in St. Louis. According to Matthew Lasner, an urban studies professor at Hunter College, Jackson’s discovery of this map served as definitive proof of redlining’s existence and impact. Jackson himself stated that he found the map somewhat accidentally while researching housing records.
Lasner further explained that the neighborhoods subjected to redlining were diverse in many aspects, including the age of homes, property values, and proximity to industrial zones. However, they shared a common characteristic: a significant Black population. Even “integrated” areas, where Black residents lived alongside other racial groups, were also frequently designated as “D” areas on these discriminatory maps.
