For decades, restrictive covenants kept black people out of white neighborhoods, while redlining prevented black people from getting mortgages in black neighborhoods. These stories bear repeating. Government housing policies in the 20th century helped white America buy homes and build wealth, forming an escalator to the middle class. Many black Americans were never allowed a ride. Civil rights legislation was supposed to fix these issues, but racism persisted. In 1992, the Boston Fed released a study showing continued discrimination among mortgage lenders. “[E]ven after controlling for financial, employment, and neighborhood characteristics,” the authors wrote, “black and Hispanic mortgage applicants in the Boston metropolitan area are roughly 60 percent more likely to be turned down than whites.” washingtonpost/news/storyline/wp/2014/12/23/if-youre-poor-your-mortgage-rate-can-depend-on-the-color-of-your-skin/?tid=HP_business
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 17:50:21 +0000