Redlining and How that Impacted My Inheritance

The Fair Housing Act of 1968 or Titles VIII through IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 passed on April 11, 1968. On February 20, 1968, my father purchased his first property. So, my father purchased his property months before it was legal to do so or I should say before it was illegal to stop him. As a child, I had no concept of how badass this was. I didn’t fully realize it until recently, and I am still in awe.

Not only did my dad buy one property during the redlining era, but he also continued to purchase well into the 1990s. I realize this was not the norm, especially for black people. However, growing up, it was just a part of my reality.

A quick history of redlining, for those that do not know, it was an era when discrimination was in place, which made purchasing property difficult. That’s a very simplified definition of redlining.

That brings us to how amazing it was that my father was able to pull off the purchase of multiple properties and how he was able to hold them for so long. That latter part was a bit of a struggle due to so many factors. So, my father was very invested in holding on to these properties. That’s because he’d worked so hard to buy and hold on to them for so long, and after my son was born, he felt that the properties would be a factor in building generational wealth for my son.

My father always planned for my son to inherit all of his hard work. He knew I wouldn’t squander his life’s work by selling everything at the lowest price possible. He knew I had an understanding of the significance of buying during the Redlining era.

So, although the properties are now mine, I will always factor in what I think my dad would have wanted for his life’s work. I will additionally remember all of the hard work that went into purchasing and how this hard work will result in building generational wealth for my son, as my father always wanted.