“Divisible” with Liberty or Justice for Some
by Schmeeka Simpson,,Tour Director
Malcolm X Memorial Foundation
I had the opportunity to help co-create a documentary called Divisible which highlights the very divisible nature of Redlining, using the birth home of Malcolm X, here in Nebraska as a case-study for Redlining across the United States.
So, what is Red lining? “Redlining is a discriminatory practice that designated specific areas of cities to receive financial support and excluded other areas, targeting them for disinvestment and decline. These ‘redlined’ neighborhoods were overwhelmingly populated by people of color. The resulting disinvestment exacerbated pre-existing education, health, housing, criminal justice, and other racial-socio-economic disparities.” – divisibledoc.com
The areas of the city that were excluded from the American Dream were outlined in red on the Federal Home Owner’s Loan Corporation maps while the areas that would receive all of the investment and resources were outlined in green. The areas outlined in green were restricted areas that did not allow Black people especially to live in them. Racial or Restricted Covenants were made between neighbors that kept out those considered “undesirable or hazardous influences” and were enforced by the police and courts and cemented in the foundations of the mainly all white U.S. suburbs through zoning laws, public policies, school boards, discriminatory loan practices, etc and often accompanied with violence and terrorism for those who tried to change things.
Redlining was banned officially in 1968 but the damage has already been done to countless communities across the United States. Race has been made synonymous with property values so Black communities are always disenfranchised, disinvested, and devastated generationally while White communities continue to build value, wealth and equity that has also been passed down for generations.
You can identify a Redlined area in any city, in any state through the cookie cutter pattern of poverty and lack of resources available to the community.
Is there a liquor store and a dollar store on every other corner? You are probably in a Redlined area. Is there an influx of predatorial banking services such as pawn shops and payday loan lenders? You are probably in a Redlined area. Are the sidewalks missing or damaged and the lighting inadequate? You are probably in a Redlined area. Is there a lack of city services and community infrastructure? You are probably in a Redlined area. Are the schools subpar and ill-equipped to educate? You are probably in a Redlined area. Is there a lack of grocery stores, and access to fresh and healthy food? You are probably in a Redlined area. Are there or have been industrial centers that poison the land, air, water, and the people in the community?
And are most of the residents in the community poor and people of color on top of everything else mentioned above?
You are almost certainly in a Redlined Area.
The ASARCO smelting and refinery plant located in Downtown Omaha was purposefully positioned near the Redlined community of North Omaha where most of the Black Community calls home today. The ASARCO plant poisoned downtown and North Omaha residents and businesses, more than 40,000 properties, for 125 years until it was forced out of business and designated a superfund site; meaning labeled by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as one of the most dangerously lead contaminated sites in America. For more than 125 years these plants were allowed to poison, I would even argue that they were PAID to poison these communities and sickness, elevated health costs, and even death resulted and still plagues North Omaha with elevated lead poisoning in the homes and soil.
Do not forget that this situation is not unique to Omaha, Nebraska. All Redlined conditions found in Omaha can also be found in EVERY REDLINED CITY ACROSS THE NATION.
“Today people of color and low-income individuals are still more likely to live and work in hazardous areas. Most Superfund sites, which are areas that have been deemed severely environmentally contaminated, are within one mile of federally funded housing. Even more disturbing, a disproportionate amount of these families are people of color.”-The University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Divisible highlighted the Redlined areas in Omaha Nebraska, mainly located in the North Side of Omaha but with many other pockets of poverty in other parts of the city. Many of the residents of these Red-lined communities have never been educated on how their neighborhoods and lifestyles have been slated for poverty and trauma for generations to come.
I am more educated now but I am still a resident of North Omaha and I was honored to be able to tell my story. My co-creators Prof. Terri Crawford and Dr. Nikitah Imani also told their stories and shared their experiences and expertise with Redlining. I am also honored to be able to work with Professor Crawford on the UNO Community Engagement Center Redlining Board where we give a free tour called “Undesign the Redline” that breaks down how racism was structurally designed in our cities and the impact that it has had on generations of families and communities. Our CEC Redlining Board meets monthly and is planning redress, restorative justice and healing actionable steps for the North Omaha Community. Divisible producer Lizzy Barrett masterfully wove our stories of pain into power and tools to educate the masses about Redlining and I am eternally grateful to have met her. If you are like-minded and serious about learning about Redlining please reach out to Prof. Terri Crawford at the UNO Black Studies Department and schedule a tour. Because in the age of information, ignorance is a choice that carries extremely high consequences. And If we want our future to change we need to educate ourselves about the past. We cannot allow Redlining and any other form of hate or discrimination to continue if we are to be the United States, indivisible, with liberty and justice FOR ALL.
References
https://www.divisibledoc.com/
https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.cleanup&id=0703481
https://www.bankrate.com/mortgages/what-is-redlining/
https://sites.uab.edu/humanrights/2021/01/15/people-of-color-live-disproportionately-close-to-superfund-sites/
Malcolm X Memorial Foundation
I had the opportunity to help co-create a documentary called Divisible which highlights the very divisible nature of Redlining, using the birth home of Malcolm X, here in Nebraska as a case-study for Redlining across the United States.
So, what is Red lining? “Redlining is a discriminatory practice that designated specific areas of cities to receive financial support and excluded other areas, targeting them for disinvestment and decline. These ‘redlined’ neighborhoods were overwhelmingly populated by people of color. The resulting disinvestment exacerbated pre-existing education, health, housing, criminal justice, and other racial-socio-economic disparities.” – divisibledoc.com
The areas of the city that were excluded from the American Dream were outlined in red on the Federal Home Owner’s Loan Corporation maps while the areas that would receive all of the investment and resources were outlined in green. The areas outlined in green were restricted areas that did not allow Black people especially to live in them. Racial or Restricted Covenants were made between neighbors that kept out those considered “undesirable or hazardous influences” and were enforced by the police and courts and cemented in the foundations of the mainly all white U.S. suburbs through zoning laws, public policies, school boards, discriminatory loan practices, etc and often accompanied with violence and terrorism for those who tried to change things.
Redlining was banned officially in 1968 but the damage has already been done to countless communities across the United States. Race has been made synonymous with property values so Black communities are always disenfranchised, disinvested, and devastated generationally while White communities continue to build value, wealth and equity that has also been passed down for generations.
You can identify a Redlined area in any city, in any state through the cookie cutter pattern of poverty and lack of resources available to the community.
Is there a liquor store and a dollar store on every other corner? You are probably in a Redlined area. Is there an influx of predatorial banking services such as pawn shops and payday loan lenders? You are probably in a Redlined area. Are the sidewalks missing or damaged and the lighting inadequate? You are probably in a Redlined area. Is there a lack of city services and community infrastructure? You are probably in a Redlined area. Are the schools subpar and ill-equipped to educate? You are probably in a Redlined area. Is there a lack of grocery stores, and access to fresh and healthy food? You are probably in a Redlined area. Are there or have been industrial centers that poison the land, air, water, and the people in the community?
And are most of the residents in the community poor and people of color on top of everything else mentioned above?
You are almost certainly in a Redlined Area.
The ASARCO smelting and refinery plant located in Downtown Omaha was purposefully positioned near the Redlined community of North Omaha where most of the Black Community calls home today. The ASARCO plant poisoned downtown and North Omaha residents and businesses, more than 40,000 properties, for 125 years until it was forced out of business and designated a superfund site; meaning labeled by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as one of the most dangerously lead contaminated sites in America. For more than 125 years these plants were allowed to poison, I would even argue that they were PAID to poison these communities and sickness, elevated health costs, and even death resulted and still plagues North Omaha with elevated lead poisoning in the homes and soil.
Do not forget that this situation is not unique to Omaha, Nebraska. All Redlined conditions found in Omaha can also be found in EVERY REDLINED CITY ACROSS THE NATION.
“Today people of color and low-income individuals are still more likely to live and work in hazardous areas. Most Superfund sites, which are areas that have been deemed severely environmentally contaminated, are within one mile of federally funded housing. Even more disturbing, a disproportionate amount of these families are people of color.”-The University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Divisible highlighted the Redlined areas in Omaha Nebraska, mainly located in the North Side of Omaha but with many other pockets of poverty in other parts of the city. Many of the residents of these Red-lined communities have never been educated on how their neighborhoods and lifestyles have been slated for poverty and trauma for generations to come.
I am more educated now but I am still a resident of North Omaha and I was honored to be able to tell my story. My co-creators Prof. Terri Crawford and Dr. Nikitah Imani also told their stories and shared their experiences and expertise with Redlining. I am also honored to be able to work with Professor Crawford on the UNO Community Engagement Center Redlining Board where we give a free tour called “Undesign the Redline” that breaks down how racism was structurally designed in our cities and the impact that it has had on generations of families and communities. Our CEC Redlining Board meets monthly and is planning redress, restorative justice and healing actionable steps for the North Omaha Community. Divisible producer Lizzy Barrett masterfully wove our stories of pain into power and tools to educate the masses about Redlining and I am eternally grateful to have met her. If you are like-minded and serious about learning about Redlining please reach out to Prof. Terri Crawford at the UNO Black Studies Department and schedule a tour. Because in the age of information, ignorance is a choice that carries extremely high consequences. And If we want our future to change we need to educate ourselves about the past. We cannot allow Redlining and any other form of hate or discrimination to continue if we are to be the United States, indivisible, with liberty and justice FOR ALL.
References
https://www.divisibledoc.com/
https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.cleanup&id=0703481
https://www.bankrate.com/mortgages/what-is-redlining/
https://sites.uab.edu/humanrights/2021/01/15/people-of-color-live-disproportionately-close-to-superfund-sites/