Torn Apart: Redlining, Gentrification, and the Fracturing of Working Class Communities of Color

By Nicolas Navarro / Fall 2019

Everywhere you look, there are communities. Families that grow and die together; friends are made out anyone within those communities. And like everywhere else in world or like anything natural, these communities have their own share of problems. One of these problems is one I know too well. It has been happening to my neighborhood gradually over the past few years: the problem lies within the housing system. This system that renders us, the people of color, helpless to latent forces within the foundation of this country. The concern I am referring to is gentrification and the reduction of cultures. Year by year, gentrification claims hundreds of families from the homes and moves us from place to place without having a definite home. The purpose of this paper is not just to understand this problem, but to spread a message and let others know about the poor foundations in several systems that enables us, people in the minorities, to enter a cycle of poverty.

In my neighborhood, as well as several of friends, we have been experiencing the effect for several years now. I see dozens of families leaving my area because of the new Banc of California stadium built a couple years ago in South Central, Los Angeles. Moving into the empty homes are college students who attend the nearby USC. Alongside this is are the reformatting of local restaurants with prices rising little by little. My friend, who also lives in South Central around Slauson Avenue is facing an eviction from a new landlord. All the families that used to live in this building are leaving, but his family refuses to leave. The new landlords are looking for little things that can lead to an eviction immediately. Though, these are just some of the examples happening my neighborhood. Across the nation this is happening in hopes of capital gain. It is manifest destiny in its most discrete form – although the land has been taken from its original ancestors, those who settled are being displaced again for the greater good, in this sense wealth.

What is Gentrification? Gentrification is the process of renovating districts, or communities so that it conforms to middle class. In the U.S., certain groups take roles in this definition: where local communities, usually people of color, are displaced to make room for the middle class, in this country the middle class is white people. Gentrification is made possible through the construction of the housing system using a poor foundation (or biased) that systematically puts minorities at an immediate disadvantage. This issue has ties back to early administration in the 20th century and reconstruction. Richard Rothstein describes this history in his book The Color of Law:

“The Federal government’s policy of racial exclusion had roots earlier in the twentieth century. The Wilson administration took the initial steps. Terrified by the 1917 Russian Revolution, government officials came to believe that communism could be defeated in the United States by getting as many white Americans as possible to become homeowners – the idea being that those who owned property in the capitalist system. So … Here, too, Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover played an important role.” (Rothstein 99)

There is an obvious problem with the modern Housing system – a dated system that supports a type of systemic racism that disadvantages the people of color. So, what happens to those feeling the effects of gentrification? They disappear, in a sense. These people are displaced from the place they call home, but before they are displaced certain things happen. Local businesses are bought up; new landowners are installed; property value goes up. As result of this, people are forced to leave, and with them goes their culture.

“The incoming population of more affluent residents and people of privilege is directly connected to an increase in resource allocation to schools, stores, and other development. While these effects can be beneficial, the gentrification process becomes detrimental when it forces original residents to leave the neighborhood through exponentially increasing property prices, coercion, or buyouts.” (Chong)

The main problem within my community is gentrification. Like my people who lived in Chavez Ravine before construction of Dodger Stadium, we are being forced out as well but not as a severe manner. Our families are being broken apart; as rent increases, the families can longer afford to live there, and businesses move in. With this happening, prices of the local economy are driven up and the people are forced out. This is how capitalism works in this scenario.  ‘Entrepreneurs’ hoping to make capital go to areas with low property value and set up shop, a place for business. This creates a competition where local stores can’t compete and are eventually bought out. Having dominated the local competition, similar businesses come and increase the property value. The local community can’t keep up with the new demand and they start leaving the area, making room for those who can. Most of the time, those who leave are people of color, and those who come in are the middle class – white people.  Little by little, the families disperse in search of new home. A location where they have to start over – friends, resources, jobs – all taken away gradually. One can say this is just how the world works, but I disagree; the world isn’t as money oriented as you think, but the U.S. market disagrees with me. Just like the citizens of the 19th century claimed Manifest Destiny to spread their imperialism, so does modern American, but in a more discrete manner. All for the growth of the U.S., at expense of people living, in what cultural critic Naomi Klein calls, sacrifice zones (Lewis).

So, what exactly are the problems within the housing system that allow gentrification to happen? I can pinpoint several obstacles that allow this flawed system to thrive. A major problem is as systematic inclination (an unbalanced structure), just like redlining existed in a much more explicit manner a couple decades ago (although it still exists today). A podcast interview with Rothstein describes this:

“He notes that the Federal Housing Administration, which was established in 1934, furthered the segregation efforts by refusing to insure mortgages in and near African-American neighborhoods — a policy known as "redlining." At the same time, the FHA was subsidizing builders who were mass-producing entire subdivisions for whites — with the requirement that none of the homes be sold to African-Americans.” (Gross)

There are modern practices like price discrimination, where people of color are charged more for the same goods and services. Racial steering, where real estate agents ‘steer’ certain people away from neighborhood, based on their race. Other obstacles include Liquor lining (this can be considered as a form of redlining), where lower income communities experience a higher liquor store density. This has been linked to poorer health and more crimes. Consequently, resources refuse to move into the neighborhoods and outsider forces come in to buy in hopes of ‘renovating’ the area – an irony (rather paradox), where resources come in and gentrification happens, whereas resources don’t come in, the area is bought out and gentrification still happens. From the beginning, these communities are set up to fail. Across the nation, there are hundreds of communities feeling the same affects.

We can, however, overcome these obstacles if certain principles were adoptive, slightly paraphrasing F.D.R.[4] Looking to his “Second Bill of Rights”, certain principles can be taken to make sure the people of these communities can have a fighting chance against displacement, and seemingly erasure of their culture.

“We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without the economic security and independence. ‘Necessitous men are not free men.’” (Roosevelt 84)

These principles are taken from F.D.R.’s “State of the Union Message to Congress”, and reworked to fit the conditions of these communities, although some may not be. The right of local businessmen in their community to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad; The right of every family to afford a home regardless of a local corporation influenced economy; the right to local resources within the community without bringing in competition. To specify what these principles/rights mean, they mean, in order, the right for local businessmen of the community to have competing prices with bigger chains that may offer ‘cheaper prices’, where the bigger chain would not be allowed to provide a lower price but rather match it. The right for families in low income communities to have no price changes in their land due to an economic factor such large business chains coming in. The right for these communities to have government sponsored resources like hospitals and law centers, though I believe this last one is making some progress. These are rights that I believe these communities should be able to adopt.

When adopting these policies, I believe certain groups would adjust immediately to these changes, while other groups will be defiant. This is all speculation based on what I have learned about the structure of this country’s society. The minority groups, those living in these communities, I believe will love these new policies. It gives us, a fighting chance to withstand the economic change. These communities will be able to hold on to their culture while at the same time, participating in the growth the middle class often experiences in gentrification. By allowing these policies, these communities will be able to preserve landmarks important to their cultures while at the same time allowing new projects to come in an renovate. They would be given leniency with affordable housing while the neighborhood is renovated; as well as unjust eminent domain. This way, it will integrate these minority communities into the society. However, I believe there would be a good amount of opposition from the middle class. It prevents the total growth of the society they’re used to, while disregarding the thoughts of the locals occupying the area. There is nothing wrong with growth of economy, but there is a huge problem when this growth comes at the expense of certain peoples.

This is a problem that should be considered by everyone. Why? We all have cultures that define who we are; we all have families that make who we are; we all have a bond to the land we live on. Everyone on Earth has a culture they can relate to, so why remove those people and their cultures? Of course, there is capital gain in gentrification, but there are so many other ways to obtain this capital. When gentrification happens, it doesn’t automatically reduce poverty levels but rather moves this ‘stat’ to another location. Here is a slight snippet from an online article":

“These changes aren’t just economic—they are racial shifts. According to Stancil’s report, people of color were much more likely to live in economically declining areas: Around 35 percent of black residents in the top 50 metros lived in such areas, compared to 9 percent who lived in gentrifying ones. White residents were more likely to leave declining areas (which saw a 22 percent loss in white residents) and to cluster in economically flourishing ones (which saw a 44 percent gain).” (Misra)

Unfortunately, this is the reality behind gentrification but, it can be fixed. By helping solve this problem, we can integrate all the aspects of society, while simultaneously reducing poverty levels, and with that comes a reduction of crime and drug abuse.

With introduction minority friendly policies, a gentrification with as little displacement of the locals as possible. Little by little, this hegemony can be restructured into a frame that can include as many people into the middle class while reducing those in the lower classes. Gentrification is a problem that has merit in solving; when left alone (gentrification), it provides a renovation to a lower income community but to certain people. The middle class (mostly white people) benefits, while the minorities (mostly people of color) feel the devastation. Their families are torn apart; so are their cultures and their landmarks; their memories of the land are taken from them, all at the expense of an economic growth that doesn’t include us. Though, all this can be changed to integrate us into this society and make it more balanced for everyone.

Works Cited

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano. “State of The Union 1944 (The Second Bill of Rights).” 11 January 1944, Washington D.C., Maryland.

Rothstein, Richard. “Racial Zoning”, “Own Your Own Home.” The Color of Law. Liveright, 2017. pp. 39 – 75.

Rothstein, Richard. Interview by Terry Gross. “A ‘Forgotten’ History of How the U.S. Government Segregated America.” Fresh Air, 3 May 2017. Accessed 9 Dec. 2019.

Chong, Emily. “Examining the Negative Impacts of Gentrification.” 17 Sep. 2017. Accessed 8 Dec. 2019.

Misra, Tanvi. “From Gentrification to Decline: How Neighborhoods Really Change.” 10 Apr. 2019. Accessed 11 Dec. 2019.

Lewis, Avi. “This Changes Everything.” Accessed 11 Dec. 2019.