What is meant by Place-Based Discrimination?
Place-based discrimination is compounded upon socio-economic and socio-ecological factors that work in tandem to worsen the material conditions of the target group or population. For example, the racist practice of divesting in neighborhoods wholesale on the basis of race results in further destitution. This would be a systematically or explicitly racist practice. The racist practice jeopardizes the target group’s access to fair housing, employment, criminal justice, and healthcare. Over time, this can manifest into a physical location that is systemically denied access to fair housing or employment simply due to place-based discrimination.
What was "redlining" and why does it still matter?
In the early 20th century, Black communities across the U.S. were subjected to economic constraint and social segregation through housing policies that mandated segregation. Black communities were systematically excluded from the housing benefits offered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal and Homeowners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC). The HOLC served as the basis of the National Housing Act of 1934 which ratified the Federal Housing Authority (FHA). Housing policy discrimination was further exacerbated by the FHA refusing to insure mortgages near and within Black neighborhoods (redlining). While the systematic practice of redlining ended in 1968 under The Fair Housing Act of 1968, systemically, redlining continues to socially truncate and economically impair Black taxpayers in 2022. Although redlined policies were predominately used against Black communities, today, formerly redlined communities are 72% non-Black. For this reason, “The Redlined Black America Fund” attempts to aim policy efforts directly at addressing the historic discrimination against Black taxpayers by providing tax credits to the families of Black Americans disenfranchised by redlining.
In terms of racist practices and policies, what is the difference between "systemic" and "systematic"?
A systematic process usually refers to a “methodological plan" or “calculated procedure,” while a systemic process is “related to, or associated with a system.” In terms of racism, systematic racism is direct and explicit racism (i.e., denying loans based on race), while systemic racism are outcomes related to explicitly racist procedures (i.e., non-redlined neighborhoods being 8 times more likely to receive loans than redlined neighborhoods in 2022). Due to low implementation of anti-racist policies, strongholds that maintain white supremacy and identity-based privilege persist through systemic racism.
