Dayton’s Historic Redlining Practice Created Lasting Health Inequities
October 21, 2024 –Michael Carter, chief diversity officer at Sinclair Community College, visited Kettering College to discuss historic racial redlining practices and how the segregation it created continues to affect healthcare disparities in the greater Dayton area.
Michael contributed to the award-winning documentary, “Redlining: Mapping Inequality in Dayton and Springfield” and showed the audience a brief portion of it during his presentation. The film explains how the rise in the American middle class and the rise of home ownership went hand in hand, but this coveted American Dream was purposely denied to Blacks and minorities due to a government-approved practice that began in the 1930s called redlining.
Redlining is the now-illegal practice of refusing to provide consumers with mortgages and other financial services based on where they live. Government officials used data provided by local real estate professionals, lenders, developers, and appraisers and assigned grades to areas to reflect the level of “mortgage security,” and the results were displayed on color-coded maps.
The areas in red represented neighborhoods that would not receive any financial services, even if applicants were approved. The documentary states, “The maps were said to be based on risk to the lender, but the level of risk was based almost entirely on race and ethnicity, and this became federal policy.” In other words, redlining was legal racism presented as financial wisdom.
Michael explained the discriminatory act of redlining was a way for the government to implement segregation in northern cities and was never intended to be made public; however, in 1968 the Fair Housing Act was created and ended redlining. Michael explained the repercussions of redlining can still be felt and seen in our region.
The 1930s map of segregated Dayton is very similar to a 2024 map of Dayton, proving the division and withholding of the American Dream from Blacks and minorities has created a lasting effect. He said, “Dayton is considered one of the most segregated cities in America, and 80% of all Black people in the Dayton area live within a 6-mile radius.”
He offered his personal example of his Black parents who were not allowed to purchase a house in Springfield, Ohio, outside of a 4-street radius. He said, “People deny redlining happened, but we know it did. The question is ‘What do we do now that we know the information to move forward?’”
He reminded the group that although this might not have been taught in school, “What you learn about history is partial at best and a lie at worst. We have to unpack history instead of pretending it didn’t exist.”
Michael said the lingering effects of redlining are compounded to create an overall distrust of a government that was capable of outward racism. He explained to the audience, which consisted mostly of Kettering College Physician Assistant Studies (PA) students, “People will come to you with apprehension about healthcare—there is a historical reason for that.”
He cited The Tuskegee Experiment, Marion Sims, and Henrietta Lacks as examples where Blacks have been abused in healthcare. “Those stories get passed down, and people believe that’s what the government will do,” Michael said.
Redlining gave affluent neighborhoods preference and access to resources, and this prejudice gave those neighborhoods an over 40-year advantage that remains today.
Michael cited a University of California, Berkley, study that has discovered a link between redlining maps and current health disparities. The redlined neighborhoods of the 1930s – late 1960s remain largely underserved and present a prevalence of ailments such as diabetes, high blood pressure, COPD, and cancer and have higher rates of people who lack health insurance and neglect regular dental or medical checkups.
Redlining isolated Blacks to areas that have—and currently have—less transportation, school funding, and access to healthcare and healthy foods. Michael said, “Businesses and hospitals often leave, and what remains are good people who are struggling.”
He told the audience to consider the day’s presentation as they serve their patients. He advised: “Have radical empathy. Where you grew up impacts you; where your parents grew up impacts you; how you were raised along with the stories and fears you have impact you. Believe your patients when they tell you what they feel.”
Sarah Brandell, assistant professor in Kettering College’s PA program, says, “The DEI committee in our program regularly brings in speakers related to topics we feel could be impactful to students. We invited Michael Carter to speak on redlining as it relates to health outcomes. This was suggested as it may be a topic students have not thought about before, and the speaker can talk specifically about the Dayton region. Our hope is these different talks allow students to reflect on how to approach patients in the future.”
About Kettering College
Kettering College is a fully accredited, faith-based healthcare college in a suburb of Dayton, Ohio, offering career-focused medical degrees through traditional and accelerated programs. A division of Kettering Health, Kettering College is located on the Kettering Health Main Campus and is chartered by the Seventh-day Adventist Church.