Running Head: Structural Racism in Housing

Chanel Leake
Sociology 141
Myron Strong
Community College of Baltimore County

Running Head: Structural Racism in Housing

Structural Racism in Housing

The social construction of race is something that is very real although race is not. Race is
something that is thought of as biological when in reality it is actually a social concept. This
concept is often confused with ethnicity. Ethnicity is something that we all actually have. This is
because ethnicity is the shared social characteristics of a group. Because people do not know
the difference between the two the social construction of race affects us on a daily basis even on
the most fundamental aspects of our lives. We are affected by what our race is because of
racism. Racism is the the discrimination or prejudice toward people based on their race or
ethnicity. The effects of racism in the United States can be seen since the founding of this
country. When this country was founded it was done by the mass killing of the Native American
people. This country was also built on the backs of African slaves that American settlers bought
and sold. From this, it is evident that the whites that settled in here did not believe in the social
equality of other races. This lack of social equality lead to the systematic mistreatment of
minorities in this country.
After slavery was ended in this country segregation of whites from minorities was the
norm. Everything from was affected by segregation laws from where minorities could eat, go to
school or even live. In the 1920s, lots of people from different countries began to migrate to
America with hopes of finding work. They all worked the most enduring, dangerous and low
paying jobs during the industrial age along with the minorities that were already here. Along with
being forced into low paying jobs they were also forced to occupy properties of the lowest
conditions. This was justified by the idea that it was a consequence of their innate racial

Running Head: Structural Racism in Housing

3
character based on the beliefs that whites had of being superior. The also justified this idea with
science.
The science used to determine race and racial superiority was called Eugenics. Eugenics
played a huge factor in naturalization or citizenship of minorities. After the Civil War, to be an
American citizen you had to either be white or black. Your whiteness or blackness would be
determined by law. This was not an issue for the whites and blacks whose ancestors were
considered white or black before these laws came to be. However this became a major issue for
people who immigrated to America. People who wanted citizenship had to prove to the courts
that they were on of the two. In many cases, the immigrants that applied for citizenship tried to
do so as someone of caucasian descent. They did this by either trying to prove their loyalty to
America or by proving their whiteness scientifically. Neither of these strategies worked because
despite all of the evidence that had to prove their whiteness based on the terms that the court had
given the court decided that whiteness was something that was determined by the common man.
This resulted in the deportation of Mexicans, the discrimination of asian immigrants through the
Chinese Exclusion Act and the forced movement of Japanese immigrants into internment camps
during World War II. Because they were not citizens it made it easier for people to view them as
the enemy and treat them as subhuman. Eventually this racial requirement for naturalization
was removed in 1952. This made a huge difference in how they were treated.
After World War II, veterans returned home and needed somewhere to live so that they
could start their families. When they initially returned they were living in huts that were shared
between two families. In the 1930s, the United States established a housing program called The
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) that provided loans for housing. The Federal Housing
Administration, along with banks, funded the development of new neighborhoods on the

Running Head: Structural Racism in Housing

4
outskirts of major cities. These neighborhoods , called suburbs, became a part of the American
dream. An American dream that was only accessible by whites. People of color were not allowed
to purchase homes in the neighborhoods if the owners of the development did not approve it.
This is because the FHA said, the presence of even one or two non white families could
undermine real estate values in the new suburbs. They believed that race was just as much of a
factor in property value as the conditions of the homes themselves. Because of this the FHA
decided to give housing communities ratings. The communities that were all white and far from
any minority neighborhoods where given the color green for a good rating. Communities that
were all minority or that were in the process of a change from being all minority received the
lowest rating and were given the color red. This is called redlining. Due to this most of the
funding went to the green areas, the neighborhoods in the suburbs that were occupied by whites.
Less than two percent went to neighborhoods that had been redlined. What was left after
redlining was public housing. The public housing if what minorities were able to afford and most
of them were located in the inner city. This caused housing to not only be divided my race but
also by social class.
In 1968, racial terms were removed for federal housing policies with the Fair Housing
Act. This allowed non white families to move into the suburbs. When these families moved into
these areas the economic values in their neighborhoods went down. Not because of minorities
moving in, but because whites left when they did. Real estate agents got white homeowners to
sell their homes based on their fears of living in neighborhoods with non white. These homes
were then resold to other minority families. This changed the areas that were being redlined. This
continues to affect the housing market in the United States today.

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5
Housing discrimination is not a problem that only affects people living in America. In
India housing discrimination is not so much affected by race as it is religion. Currently people
are being denied housing if they are Muslim or Dalit. Landlords justify it as a private decision
to choose tenants they are comfortable with, which accord to the government they have the right
to do. It is safe to say they we have a lot to work on not only as a country but as people of the
world. We will only reach equality with education and respect for others.

Running Head: Structural Racism in Housing

Resources
Fair Housing: Race Discrimination - FindLaw. (n.d.). Retrieved December 08, 2016, from
http://civilrights.findlaw.com/discrimination/fair-housing-race-discrimination.html
Future of Fair Housing: How We Got Here. (n.d.). Retrieved December 08, 2016, from
http://www.civilrights.org/publications/reports/fairhousing/historical.html
Gopalakrishnan, A. (2015). Housing: We need a law against discrimination - Times of India.
Retrieved December 08, 2016, from http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-times/allthat-matters/Housing-We-need-a-law-against-discrimination/articleshow/47749962.cms
H. (2013). Housing Discrimination M
Subtle, But Still Absurdly High | DiversityInc. Retrieved December 08, 2016, from
http://www.diversityinc.com/diversity-and-inclusion/though-more-hidden-housingdiscrimination-is-still-absurdly-high/
H. (2016). Retrieved December 08, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaFTVOjOoQ