Why are US cities still so segregated? - Kevin Ehrman-Solberg and Kirsten Delegard

TED-Ed

Origins of Racial Covenants in Minneapolis (1909)

October 21st, 1909: 125 residents of affluent Minneapolis neighborhood confronted William Simpson
- Simpson had just bought plot in area
- Told him to leave - would be second Black family in otherwise white neighborhood
- Planned to build home there
Neighbors' response to Simpson family
- Refused offers to buy them out
- Neighbors blocked home construction
- Family eventually moved in despite harassment
Ripple effect: few months later, first racially restrictive covenant implemented in Minneapolis

Covenants = agreements in property deeds regulating property use
Beginning mid-1800s: used specifically to racially restrict properties
Clauses written into deeds preventing all future owners from selling/leasing to certain racial/ethnic groups
- Especially targeted Black people

Period 1920-1950: racial covenants spread "like wildfire" throughout US
Impact: made cities more segregated, suburbs more restricted
Minneapolis county: racial covenants appeared on 25,000+ home deeds
Legal status: completely legal practice
Federal support: US Federal Housing Administration promoted racial covenants in underwriting manual

Real estate developers began racially restricting new homes from outset
Developments planned as "dream communities for American families—but for white people only"
Levittown, New York (1947): prototype postwar American suburb
- 17,000+ identical homes
- Cost ~$7,000 each
- Intended for affordable housing for WWII veterans
- Racial covenant: no use/occupancy "by any person other than members of the Caucasian race"
  - Exception: servants

1950-1970: American suburban population nearly doubled
"White flight": white people moved to racially homogenous areas
Environmental impact: suburbs replaced native ecosystems with pavement and water-guzzling lawns
Transportation dependency: diffuse layout necessitated car travel
Auto industry growth: American automobile production quadrupled 1946-1955
- Cemented nation's car dependence

G.I. Bill: offered veterans favorable lending rates for home purchases
Barriers for people of color:
- Racial covenants restricted access to certain neighborhoods
- Government programs labeled neighborhoods of color as bad investments
- Often refused to insure mortgages in those areas
Redlining: banks wouldn't lend money for property purchases in neighborhoods of color
Wealth impact: people of color forced to rent instead of building home equity
- Even when able to buy, home values less likely to increase
- Prevented wealth transfer to future generations

Suburban design: cul-de-sacs and dead ends minimized traffic
City planning discrimination:
- Redlined neighborhoods identified as inexpensive areas for industrial development
- Mid-20th century freeway projects disproportionately cut through redlined neighborhoods
- Accompanied by heavy industry and pollution
Health consequences: neighborhoods of color experience higher rates of:
- Drinking water contamination
- Asthma
- Other health issues

People targeted by racial covenants increasingly challenged them in court
1968: racial covenants banned under Fair Housing Act
Assessment: "damage had been done"
Impact: racial covenants concentrated wealth/amenities in white neighborhoods, depressed conditions/home values in neighborhoods of color

2020 homeownership rates:
- White families: ~74%
- Black families: ~44%
- Gap greatest in Minnesota's Twin Cities
Ongoing segregation: 90% of suburban counties predominantly white
Continued discrimination practices:
- Some landlords, real estate agents, lenders still discriminate based on race
- Rejection, neighborhood steering, inaccessibly high interest rates
- Gentrification and exclusionary zoning displace/exclude people of color

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