Terms
Dispossession/Displacement: Seneca Village
Founded in 1825, Seneca Village a predominantly free Black settlement, the first of its kind, in what is today Central Park in New York City. The community, which at its peaked at just over 250 residents, existed until 1857 when the residents were ordered through eminent domain to leave their houses, which were demolished for the creation of Central Park. (Central Park Conservancy, 2018)
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Black Farmers Land Dispossession
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Urban Renewal Displacement
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Redlining is a now illegal practice of refusing to offer credit or insurance in a particular community on a discriminatory basis, usually the race or ethnicity of its residents (Merriam-Webster). Redlining practices included unfair and abusive loan terms for borrowers, outright deception, and penalties for prepaying loans (Encyclopedia Britannica).
The FHA Underwriting Handbook provided color-coded “residential security maps” that were used by government agencies to determine which neighborhoods were "secure" for investments, and which should be off-limits for issuing mortgages. The color-coding guidelines were as follows: