The Durable Inequality of Redlining: HOLC Neighborhood Ratings and Contemporary School Segregation in Oakland

Abstract

We examine the relationship between the early 20th-century practice of redlining in housing markets and contemporary school segregation in Oakland, California, using maps from the Home Owners Loan Corporation and school-level demographic data from 1990, 2000, and 2010. White students were more consistently isolated in schools in higher-graded neighborhoods. Black and Hispanic students had less exposure to white students and were more isolated in schools in lower-graded neighborhoods. Patterns for Asian Pacific Islander students were mixed. The association between redlining practices from the 1930s and recent patterns of school segregation provides insight into the persistent and intergenerational effects of metaracism.

Keywords

urban development racism housing race school segregation

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