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by lotsoweiners 788 days ago
When in doubt blame white people right?
1 comments

You blame the people that architected it: Racist & oportunistic politicians, bankers, and real estate agents.

Who were predominately white, yes. Not sure why that makes you feel so defensive.

It's true that some white elites took a hand in destroying ethnic white urban neighborhoods, particularly among Italian, German, Jewish and Eastern European communities. Most Americans affected by redlining were white. "Urban renewal" destroyed not only certain poor black neighborhoods, but many ethnic white enclaves. It was a big government money faucet that tempted even the leaders of such communities to raze perfectly good homes and blocks in exchange for federal redevelopment funds.

One example that tells the story in Burlington, VT. Practically zero black or brown people lived there in the 1960s. It was a homogenous white town of mostly Anglo-European heritage. Nevertheless city leaders razed entire blocks and long-established neighborhoods in the name of urban renewal. Parts of downtown have arguably still not recovered.

https://www.sevendaysvt.com/news/before-burlington-town-cent...