The patterns in 1930s redlinging maps are still present today. HOLC redlined areas of New Haven and neighboring towns, 1937.
Whether they buy or rent their homes, residents of Greater New Haven desperately need more affordable housing; DataHaven found two out of every five households must spend more than the recommended 30 percent of their income on housing. Government funding can help by encouraging the development of more affordable housing, but zoning regulations almost always hedge affordable housing within the old red lines. Government-assisted affordable housing is “disproportionately located in lowincome neighborhoods and communities of color, further reinforcing social and economic segregation.” Just as A Raisin in the Sun’s Karl Lindner claims he is looking out for everyone’s best interest, this seemingly benevolent government assistance often doubles down on segregation. Segregation causes disparate qualities of life, perhaps most starkly illustrated through life expectancy. In New Haven’s low-income neighborhoods, like Newhallville, the life expectancy is just 71 years, while the citywide average is 78.2 years, and in wealthier, whiter towns it’s even higher, up to 83.4 years in Orange. As Ta-Nehisi Coates writes, “with segregation, with the isolation of the injured and the robbed, comes the concentration of disadvantage [...]; the concentration of poverty has been paired with a concentration of melanin. The resulting conflagration has been devastating.” —MOLLY FITZMAURICE
Homeownership is still low in lower-grade areas
High-grade areas are still predominantly white
A Raisin in the Sun ends with the Younger family poised to move into an all-white neighborhood, despite their neighbors’ attempts to keep them out, which will likely soon escalate into violence. Why do the Youngers choose to leave their “Black Belt” neighborhood for their new home? Why does Lorraine Hansberry—who could have continued the play, and drawn from her own experience, to showcase the hostility the Youngers will face—choose to end their story when she does?
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