The Impact of Segregation in Hartford County Taniqua K. Huguley, M.A. February 9, 2021
OPEN COMMUNITIES ALLIANCE Embracing Diversity to Strengthen Connecticut
Open Communities Alliance is a Connecticut-based civil rights non-profit working with an urban-suburban interracial coalition to advocate for access to opportunity, particularly through promoting balanced affordable housing development, including in thriving communities.
CT IS ONE OF THE MOST SEGREGATED STATES IN THE NATION
Shaped by multiple factors: • Zoning • Subsidized housing locations • Limits on housing authority jurisdiction • Disinvestment
HOUSING POLICY AND SEGREGATION
Redlining Redlining: Starting in the 1930s, federal officials and local lenders rated the risk of making home 02
mortgages in various neighborhoods. Places with lots of Black and immigrant residents were given low ratings making it harder to get home loans (the D & C red and yellow areas on this map). This is called redlining. This made it extremely difficult for Blacks and Hispanics to start to build wealth through homeownership.
RACIAL COVENANTS
The Supreme Court finally held that State courts could not enforce racial covenants under the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause in the Shelley v. Kraemer case in 1948.
HOUSING SEGREGATION IS NOT ACCIDENTAL.
• What areas of Connecticut are thriving? Struggling? • How do these neighborhood assessments interact with race and ethnicity? • Is the location of government-subsidized housing allowing lowerincome families to connect to high performing school districts?
IMPACT ON OPPORTUNITY
Education Opportunity Score
Economic Opportunity Score
Neighborhood
Opportunity Score
FINAL Opportunity Score
MAP OF DISTRIBUTION OF OPPORTUNITY IN CT
Opportunity Maps available at: CTOCA.org/ct_opportunity_map
MAP OF DISTRIBUTION OF PEOPLE OF COLOR & OPPORTUNITY IN CT
1 Dot = 250 people of color
Opportunity Maps available at: CTOCA.org/ct_opportunity_map
Health Disparity and Opportunity in Hartford
HARTFORD COUNTY
1950
1980
Hartford County Racial Change Source: On the Line
2010
In 1876 Scribner’s Monthly declared Hartford,
“The richest City in the World.” (per capita)
• Financial center • Insurance capital • Home to Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe
WHERE DO WE LIVE? OPPORTUNITY BY RACE AND ETHNICITY IN CT % of People by Race & Ethnicity
% of People by Race & Ethnicity Living in Lower Opportunity Areas Hispanic 32%
Non-Hispanic White 25%
Non-Hispanic Black 74% Hispanic 68%
WHERE DO WE LIVE? OPPORTUNITY BY RACE AND ETHNICITY IN CT
2% of the land area of the state
Historically, Blacks and Latinos earned on average half or less of what whites earned and had a 10% or less of the wealth. This wealth disparity is projected to widen to POC having only 1% of the wealth that whites have. Forbes, September 2017, available at https://www.forbes.com/sites/n iallmccarthy/2017/09/14/racial -wealth-inequality-in-the-u-sis-rampant-infographic/#1baff4 1734e8 .
AFFORDABILITY IN THE STATE OF CT
CONNECTICUT th 10 Highest Housing Wage
$26.42/hr
Required to afford a twobedroom rental home
96 hours/week
# of Hours of work needed at the minimum wage (to afford two- bedroom rental home) Source: National Low Income Housing Coalition
SOLUTIONS Bring impactful and effective investments to communities in lower opportunity areas. Ensure that families truly have a choice in where they live. Ensure there are affordable housing choices in higher opportunity areas for all. Ensure that all towns in Connecticut take on their fair share of affordable housing.
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Taniqua K. Huguley, M.A. Outreach Director www.CTOCA.org (860)610-6040