Redlining and Its Modern Impact on St. Louis
Date Posted: February 10, 2026
Posted In: Discussion,
From Missouri Independent: “The Negro should be granted equality…On the surface, this appears reasonable, but it is not realistic. For it is obvious that if a man is entered at the starting line in a race three hundred years after another man, the first would have to perform some impossible feat to catch up with his fellow runner.”
As evidenced by the above quote, Dr. Martin Luther King contends that equality implies equity. Equity is fairness or justice in how people are treated and is meeting people where they are and providing help and support to strengthen their quality of life.
While Black American rights are constitutionally enshrined daily, they are obstructed and as King says, force Blacks to attempt the impossible–catch up. African Americans live in a society that holds them back to just after the starting line thereby preserving socioeconomic inequality.
The Homeowner’s Loan Corporation in 1935 developed and became the primary organization that enforced real estate segregation through redlining. To push segregation, local St. Louis newspapers and television broadcasts aided redlining by publishing maps to identify parts of the city that were “desirable” or vibrant to attract new, white buyers into nicer neighborhoods.
Prospective Black homeowners were pushed into “dangerous” or declining neighborhoods. Decades-long racist redlining triggered lasting, devastating socioeconomic impacts limiting Black American access to critical healthcare,financial services, and educational institutions. As time progressed and while redlining was officially revoked, racial stigmas surrounding establishing businesses in black neighborhoods persisted.
Specifically, an Economic Innovation Group case study validates this idea. This study found that in North St. Louis, the historically Black American areas have a 32% poverty rate and a 41.7% vacancy rate. Moreover, 18.6% of the residents do not hold a high school diploma, likely resulting in 33.3% unemployment. The EIG further finds that areas with 73.7% white population had a 10.7% poverty rate, an 11.5% vacancy rate, 7.3% of residents did not have a high school diploma, and an unemployment rate of 18.1%.
Negative poverty, vacancy and unemployment rates are almost double or triple for African Americans.