Blockbusting and Redlining

The raisin in the sun displays the effects of institutional racism on African Americans during the 50's and 60's."Them houses they put up for colored in them areas way out all seem to cost twice as much as other houses. I did the best I could"(act 2) In that quote mama describes how hard it was for blacks trying to buy a home and pay for it. Whites created the inner city ghettos we see today, due to the practices they enacted in the past. Two prominent strategies they used were redlining and blockbusting.  redlining is "the practice of denying services, either directly or through selectively raising prices, to residents of certain areas based on the racial or ethnic composition of those areas." While blockbusting is "an illegal practice in which licensees or others encourage homeowners to sell because of an influx or expected influx of minorities into the area."

In many people's opinions these practices created the ghettos of America today. Statistics also show a stark contrast between the living conditions of black neighborhoods in comparison to white neighborhoods.  The scariest fact is that redlining still occurs today. A study done in 2002 showed that "small businesses in black neighborhoods received fewer loans, even after accounting for business density, business size, industrial mix, neighborhood income, and the credit quality of local businesses"(Immergluck) The grocery store video also proves this point even more. Racism still exists and racism still affects the living quality for blacks. Just look at flint, it’s a perfect example of environmental racism. The irony in all of this is that whites created the ghetto but expect blacks to fix it immediately?