Redlining in Fruitvale

Historically in America, areas of wealth and leisure have tried to exclude people of color. During the New Deal between 1935-1940, the government-backed Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) created "residential security" maps for Oakland with comments on how high the "racial infiltration" rates were in different parts of the city. While the government openly assisted White families with new home purchases, it denied that same help to people living in the red-lined areas — overwhelmingly people of color — meaning many were stuck as renters in denser urban areas.

The term "redlining" came to describe this discriminatory practice that systematically denied access to mortgages and financial services to entire neighborhoods based on the racial composition of those areas. Neighborhoods with Black residents, as well as some immigrant and Jewish communities, were ranked lower due to the "infiltration" of non-whites. HOLC produced maps for each city, categorizing neighborhoods with grades: "A" (colored green) for the "best" and safest investments, and "D" (colored red) for those considered "hazardous." Fruitvale scored from "C" to "D." This practice of redlining was legal and prevalent for many years.

Why does this matter? This practice prevented wealth accumulation: low grades of C or D made it nearly impossible for non-whites to buy property in affluent areas. Property ownership is a primary means of building and passing down wealth, so redlining systematically deprived marginalized communities of this opportunity, perpetuating a cycle of poverty and limited economic mobility.