Introduction to the Issue

Abstract

The coeditors thank Suzanne Nichols and the three referees for their valuable comments and suggestions on this introduction. Extensive editorial and research assistance were provided by Angela Rose Myers, Yufeng Lai, Shuyi Deng, and Nora Jury-Last. The coeditors also acknowledge and thank Stephen Menendian for his help and support. He contributed to the concepts, the research, and the edits. His work is appreciated and improved the quality of the volume.

Racial Discrimination and Economic Factors in Redlining of Ohio Neighborhoods

“…In their 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision, the U.S. Supreme Court provided states with the right to, as described by John A. Powell and colleagues (2021), “regulate black bodies in white spaces, through state-enforced segregation” and codified structural racism as a legal practice. The redlined shapes on HOLC maps are an important visual signifier of the institutional lending policy promoted by the Federal Housing Authority, carried out by the HOLC, and legitimized by the Plessy decision (Ware 2021).…”

“…We have sought to rigorously quantify data appearing on the area description forms that documented decisions to redline. Powell and colleagues (2021) noted that the measurement and inferences around racial residential segregation have faced challenges in making causal inferences. Our work extends prior archival understandings to include statistical analyses and comparisons of how the racial and economic factors observed in neighborhoods, in combination with government policy, resulted in repeated and ongoing housing discrimination on the basis of race.…”