Redlining’s legacy of housing discrimination in Fresno must come to an end | Opinion
Black History Month is an annual time to acknowledge the contributions of Black people in America, as well as the injustices done to them. While we reflect upon this year after year each February, meaningful change in perception, treatment, and opportunity remain illusive.
The current segregation in Fresno communities is a clear example of how ingrained policies persist, and how the shameful aspects of history repeat from generation to generation.
In the mid-1930s deed restrictions preventing Black people from owning homes were codified. Fresno — like many cities in the country — as it adopted color-coded maps drawn by the federal government to determine where and to whom credit would be offered. Green areas signifying white neighborhoods, red signifying Black areas (which is how the term “redlining” originated). Fast forward to today and, 80 years later, areas marked red on those old-fashioned maps continue to reflect the segregation and denial of opportunity they were designed to create and cement.
“Green” neighborhoods in north Fresno like Fig Garden and Woodward Park, with tree-lined streets, gracious homes, and good schools were established and all but guaranteed to remain white and privileged, while people of color were segregated in the “red” south and southwest areas of the city.
These policies didn’t only dictate where people could live, but literally for how long: life expectancy in north Fresno’s opportunity-rich enclaves is 90 years of age, while in southwest Fresnans live 20 years less.
Opinion
Today in southwest Fresno, industrial rezoning has enabled actual garbage dumps and toxic industries to operate next door to homes and across the street from schools like West Fresno Middle School and Women, Infants & Children Health Services. This reality needs to be honestly confronted and remedied with greater investment from state leaders.
Families, including mine, have lived in southwest Fresno for generations. These communities should be prioritized to provide better resources and create more opportunities so that families can choose to remain in and be proud of the neighborhoods they have long called home.
In addition to supporting traditionally Black neighborhoods, it is also essential that we ensure more communities of color have the option to live in high-opportunity neighborhoods like those in north Fresno.
The first step is to stop making land-use decisions that perpetuate racist policies.
Today, many traditionally whiter, wealthier communities (including in north Fresno) prohibit smaller housing options, including condos and town homes. By preventing smaller homes that more people of color can afford, we are deliberately continuing the legacy of redlining.
High-opportunity neighborhoods provide better access to jobs, good schools, and other critical resources that help lead to financial security. Homeownership is also the primary way most Americans build wealth, and current policies preventing smaller homes from being built in these areas exclude far too many communities of color from the American dream.
Creating more affordable homeownership opportunities — especially in high-opportunity neighborhoods — wouldn’t just benefit families of color. While Black and Latino homeownership rates are 26% and 18% lower respectively than white Californians, across the board fewer than 55% of Californians live in homes they or their family own — the second lowest rate of any state in the nation.
Addressing Fresno’s housing crisis requires a willingness from both local elected officials and state legislators to champion solutions that will have real impact, not simply tinker around the edges.
Southwest Fresno cannot continue to be a dumping ground for industrial development. The people living here do not need more toxic warehouses that threaten the health of employees and local residents. They need investment from elected officials, including a focus on bringing high-quality green economy jobs that benefit local residents and the community at large.
It is also essential that we create more equitable access to high-opportunity neighborhoods. California will never begin to rectify the impacts of redlining until state legislators are willing to end single-family zoning rules that, by design, have prevented communities of color from living where they choose for generations.
Acknowledging the sins of the past is not enough. Our elected officials need both the willingness to recognize that policies in place today continue segregation in our communities and the courage to stand up and say it stops now.
Eric Payne of Fresno is the executive director of the Central Valley Urban Institute.
