Racial Redlining 

Racial Redlining

In the 1930s, the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation labelled areas of Los Angeles based on whether or not they believed it would be a safe investment area. They used four colours to distinguish the risk of investment: green, blue, yellow, and red, just as in the American Yawp Chapter Section.[1] To truly understand why each area was coloured the way it was, I decided to pick two areas for each colour. Out of the areas I picked for each colour, I tried to make sure they were in completely different locations. After investigating all eight areas, I decided that occupation, average income, race and ethnicity, and the physical condition of the area all helped determine these classifications. At the top of the classifications, green areas were considered safe investment areas. I chose Brentwood Park and Morningside Park to understand why certain areas are designated green. To begin with, both areas contained people with professional careers and white-collar jobs, causing the average income to be higher than in other coloured areas. Brentwood Park had an average income of $6,000 to $18,000, and Morningside Park had an average income of $2,400 to $5,000. [2]On another note, both areas did not contain foreign families or African Americans. In the descriptions of the areas, both contained statements regarding protection against racial hazards. Physically, both areas did not contain construction hazards, allowing for the highest quality of construction in these areas.

Directly under green areas, blue areas were known for being good investment areas. The two blue areas I chose to investigate were Westwood and Compton. Similar to those living in Brentwood Park and Morningside Park, the majority of people living in Westwood and Compton held professional and white-collar jobs. However, their average income seems to be lower than those of the green areas. In Westwood, the average income is $1,800 to $3,600. In Compton, it was at $1,800 to $5,000. Unlike Westwood, Compton contained few foreign families, but both areas did not have any African Americans. Although Westwood had some construction hazards, it had good maintenance to maintain the high quality buildings in the area.

The next level under blue areas is those designated by yellow. These areas were considered questionable investment areas. [3]Culver City and Manhattan Beach were both considered yellow areas. They both contained jobs that would be considered not as good as white-collar jobs in the 1930s. For example, Culver City had a lot of studio employees and Manhattan Beach had a lot of oil refinery workers. This caused the areas to have average income ranges lower than green and blue areas. Culver City had an average income range of $1,200 to $2,000. Manhattan Beach had an average income range of $1,500 to $3,000. On another note, the report of Culver City had a concern with Mexican residents. Although there was a small percentage of foreign families, the report contained a statement about how the area was unappealing due to the close business districts containing Mexican families.

At the bottom of the reports are the areas coded by red. These areas were considered poor investment areas. I looked at Venice and Inglewood for this section. Although Venice contained some white-collar workers, it also had people working in occupations that wouldn’t be found in green, blue, or yellow areas. For example, both areas had WPA workers. The average income for both areas was also way lower than in other areas. [4]In Venice, it was $700 to $2,000. In Inglewood, it was $700 to $1,500. Both areas also had higher percentages of residents who weren’t native-born. For example, Venice had 15% foreign families, and Inglewood had 10%. Both areas were also characterized by poor maintenance. Along with poor maintenance, the buildings in Venice and Inglewood were approximately double the age of the buildings in the areas I previously discussed.

After looking at all of these factors for each area, I realized that these classifications had to do with the people living in these areas. Although the physical conditions of these areas were taken into consideration, the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation certainly used occupation, average income, and ethnicity as huge deciding factors.

[1] Joseph L Locke and Ben Wright, The American Yawp : A Massively Collaborative Open U.S. History Textbook (Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 2019).

[2] Diane Kuthy, “Redlining and Greenlining: Olivia Robinson Investigates Root Causes of Racial Inequity,” Art Education 70, no. 1 (December 20, 2016): 50–57, https://doi.org/10.1080/00043125.2017.1247573.

[3] Diane Kuthy, “Redlining and Greenlining: Olivia Robinson Investigates Root Causes of Racial Inequity,” Art Education 70, no. 1 (December 20, 2016): 50–57, https://doi.org/10.1080/00043125.2017.1247573.

[4] ibid