Net Worth Of White Homes Essay

“Net Worth of White Households in D.C. […],” from The Washington Post (2016), outlines the historical wealth disparities for residents, mainly between blacks and whites, in D.C. The article opens with how wealth disparities have prevented black families from a higher net worth and home ownership. It goes on to examine structural barriers created from these disparities by exploring the political and economical impact these barriers have. According to Reskin (2012), the main reason for “racial disparities in home ownership” between racial groups has come from the practice of redlining. The term redlining, Reskin describes, explains how blacks are segregated into neighborhoods, aren’t as likely as whites to own a home, and how their home’s net worth is of far less value than whites. The first effect redlining has on blacks is

However, they are still steered to primarily black ones. This allows real estate agents and banks to, “outline these communities on a map,” (Reskin, 2012), and determine the risk in loaning money and distributing mortgages to these neighborhoods. In D.C., this structural barrier of risk has had, “implications for gentrification,” (Stein, 2016), on marked neighborhoods. The second effect redlining has on blacks is the lesser chance they have of owing a home compared to whites. Banks don’t lend nor invest money into certain neighborhoods, typically those of color, because they are seen as high risk and low potential profit. This practice causes a, “shortage in affordable housing,” (Stein, 2016), because black homeowners are typically steered towards risky and overpriced subprime loans and mortgages that are usually next to impossible to pay back. The end result is blacks being, “located at the bottom of the racial wealth hierarch,” (Stein, 2016), unable to have money in purchasing a house. The final effect redlining has on blacks is their home’s net worth is far less than