Illuminating Barriers to Aging in Place for Black Older Adults

Aging Historically Segregated Places

It is not coincidental that racial minorities, at times, live in highly concentrated areas within the same region of any particular metropolitan area (though this is not universally the case). Sometimes referred to as the “ghetto,” this word originated in Venice, Italy in 1516; it was used to describe the segregated places that Jews were required by law to reside. De jure segregation, or segregation by law, also has a prevailing legacy in the United States and has resulted in many forms of discriminatory practices, including “redlining.” Until the 1968 FHA, the Federal Housing Administration championed many discriminatory practices, including the refusal to insure mortgages in integrated neighborhoods. In the late 1930s, the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (“HOLC”) had appraisers grade neighborhoods into categories according to racial composition. In doing so, mortgage lenders and buyers alike were immediately put on notice upon looking at any HOLC map. Neighborhoods in green were considered desirable and neighborhoods in red were populated by “negroes” and deemed an undesirable “risk” for lenders and insurers.

With formed segregated neighborhoods in place, racial steering (the illegal practice of real estate agents guiding prospective buyers toward or away from particular neighborhoods on the basis of race and/or ethnicity) has reinforced historic discrimination with modern day application. Recently, in Georgia, a property management company engaged in the racial steering of older Black applicants away from a predominantly white community, Cedarwood Village, to the predominantly Black community of Cedartown Commons. Cedarwood Village was described as a “neat, well-maintained complex” that was beatified with seasonal vegetation and nestled approximately two blocks east of a major shopping center. Conversely, Cedartown Commons was described as a general occupancy apartment complex located in a predominantly non-White neighborhood surrounded by abandoned houses, including some with boarded-up windows. Cedartown Commons is located several blocks away from railroad tracks with no major amenities nearby. The property management company assigned White older adults and/or disabled applicants on the waiting list ahead of comparable Black applicants for units at Cedarwood Village. This happened in spite of the Black applicants applying sooner. This steering also occurred in reverse at Cedartown Commons. As a result, the company paid $83,000 in damages to three former tenants, among other consequences.

Aging In Unlawfully Predatory Places

“Reverse redlining,” a lesser-known practice of targeting individuals of a racial demographic through predatory and discriminatory means, has, in a modern context, affected older Black Americans in horrific ways. For example, in 2011, Wells Fargo was found liable for their discriminatory practices of promoting subprime loans intentionally targeting impoverished Black neighborhoods, many occupied by older adults. The unlawful intention of the Wells Fargo employees was illuminated by their use of the term “ghetto loans.” The Department of Justice concluded that, “the more segregated a community of color is, the more likely it is that homeowners will face foreclosures because the lenders who peddled the most toxic loans targeted those communities.”

Aging In Environmentally Toxic Places

Complementing redlining, predominantly Black neighborhoods have also been targeted as habitats for factories, dumping grounds for cancer-causing chemicals, and pathways for industrial railroads. Based on a study conducted by analyzing five years of emissions data, “on average, the level of cancer risk from industrial air pollution in majority-Black census tracts is more than double of majority-white tracts.” Compounding these effects, the Environmental Protection Agency has identified areas referred to as “brownfields,” or deserted properties that are known to be contaminated or potentially contaminated by a hazardous substance. In some areas, there could be overlap between areas subjected to historic redlining and areas predisposed to brownfields. While air pollutants and brownfields ultimately affect everyone, regardless of age, Black Americans who are older adults are three times more likely to die from diseases related to pollution exposure than White Americans of the same age. To make matters worse, many minority neighborhoods exist within “food deserts,” where access to affordable and nutritious food options are scarce. For Black older adults living with disabilities, transportation to neighboring areas to access healthier foods creates an additional barrier which may not be overcome without substantial hardship.

Advocacy In Redeeming Places Plagued by Injustice

With so much at stake, it is vital that advocates not only distinguish the circumstances and experiences of Black older adults but also aid in redeeming spaces plagued by injustice. Substandard housing conditions which leave room for predatory lending, discrimination, environmental toxicity as well as a myriad of other barriers that were not mentioned in this article, cannot continue to impede anyone from holistic thriving. In tandem with other disciplines, legal professionals can lead the charge in dismantling some of the oppressive systems that have historically operated as pipelines to housing instability for Black older adults. In so doing, lawyers have an opportunity to aid in creating a more equitable society for all—as Black older adults, too, deserve to age in place.