How did housing segregation and redlining between races in Chicago, Illinois during the 1900s contribute to the current racial wealth gap in modern-day Chicago? Since the early 1900s, racial disparities have been a prevalent issue, and segregation in transportation, restaurants, and more were extremely common places for racism to take form. However, one of the only sectors that was rarely impacted by racial segregation was housing. Integrated neighborhoods, where Black and white people would live together, were especially common amongst low-income families due to the lack of public and private transportation options – forcing Black and white families to live together in neighborhoods near large industries and cities. This, however, changed …show more content…
The first to do so was Baltimore, who in 1910, chose to formalize legislation that prohibited Black people from purchasing residences in majority-white neighborhoods and vice versa. In response to this injustice, President Lyndon B. Johnson ratified the Fair Housing Act in 1968, declaring it unlawful for real estate agents to discriminate on the account of race, religion, or nationality. Despite the FHA’s legalization, the racial wealth gap remains a current and significant concern in the African-American community due to the expanding racial wealth gap supported by Redlining’s legacy. Redlining and housing segregation continue to be interwoven with the racial wealth gap due to the low homeownership rates amongst the minority community, deflated home prices of residences in redlined areas – where most Black people reside –, and the lack of funding for education and resources in majority-Black neighborhoods. Chicago was among the numerous cities that were heavily impacted by the housing segregation crisis and continues to face the devastating effects, one of the many being the racial income disparities. Presently, Chicago remains one of the