Mapping Inequality & Reclaiming Place – Demolition of a Neighborhood

Mapping Inequality & Reclaiming Place – Demolition of a Neighborhood

In 1956, congress passed the Federal-Aid Highway Act and created a vast interstate highway network across the country. It encompassed a 41,000 system that connected populations of more than 100,000 residents. Completed in the 1990’s and at a cost of a hundred billion dollars, it profoundly changed the landscape of America and how citizens travel and conduct business.

Interstate 10 was one of the largest interstate highways built with a length of 2,500 miles. It spans from Jacksonville, Florida to Santa Monica, California. Interstate 10 made its way through El Paso in the early 1960’s. Much of the interstate would cut through existing El Paso neighborhoods such as Lincoln Park, Rio Grande, Downtown and Sunset Heights. Large parcels of land were bought out and families left their homes. Much of this demolition happened in El Paso’s then Eastside which included Lincoln Park Neighborhood, the epicenter for El Paso’s African American community. A large amount of homes and businesses were lost despite a nationwide protest to save these communities from erasure and possible health hazards coming from construction and automobiles.

This map from the “Mapping Inequality” project documents redlining in El Paso. Dating back to the 1930s, redlining was a widespread, discriminatory practice that started during the New Deal-era when the United States government began offering government-insured mortgages to prevent mass foreclosures during the Great Depression. As the program grew, the government began adding qualifications to who could qualify for these mortgages based on the value and location of homes. Color-coded maps were used to evaluate the risk associated with the loan and, across the United States, Black and other non-white neighborhoods were consistently deemed high risk and circled with a red line. By labeling these areas high risk, banks and other mortgage agencies were able to deny loans to people of color. Though redlining was ultimately deemed illegal under the Fair Housing Act of 1968, its effects are still felt today. Redlining inhibited families from upward economic mobility during an era of unprecedented economic growth post-WWII and also restricted movement within cities.

As a result, the majority of El Paso’s historic Black homes and businesses are located within these redlined areas. A current list of identified locations is available here on Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/4DW2ao2WTipU58G27

This object is currently on view in the El Paso Museum of History's newest exhibition Still We Rise: El Paso's Black Experience on view until January 2024.

Área: Central / Downtown

Fuente: Robert K. Nelson, LaDale Winling, Richard Marciano, Nathan Connolly, et al., “Mapping Inequality,” American Panorama, ed. Robert K. Nelson and Edward L. Ayers, accessed September 29, 2023, https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/[YOUR VIEW].

Cargado por: El Paso Museum of History

Comentarios

Hacer un comentario
Gracias por su comentario

Reportar esta entrada

Elige la razón más importante para este reporte

Tu nombre

Tu correo electrónico

Detalle opcional

Gracias por su reporte

Más sobre la misma comunidad-colección

Sexto a octavo grado de la clase

The picture shows the Sacred Heart class from grades 6 to 8. It ...

Coche de Familia Tschantié

This picture features the children of the family Tschantié ...

City Hall, El Paso, TX 1899-1959

This picture shows the El Paso City Hall during the Second World ...

Edificio Popular Dry Goods (La Popular)

The Popular Dry Goods Building was part of the Popular Dry Goods ...

Hotel Hussmann

Hotel Hussmann during the winter (now Cortez building). San ...

Visión general de El Paso

Overview shot of El Paso Downtown area, facing east. On the ...

Stagecoach in Parade

A stagecoach is joining the parade pulled by four mules. A sign ...

Los indios en desfile

Young men holding a flag (1693-1800). Parade near Hotel ...

Los indios en desfile

The images shows Indians in parade in downtown El Paso in 1930. ...

Desfile en El Centro de El Paso

Parade in Downtown El Paso

Desfile el Pionero Plaza

The image shows a parade near Pioneer Plaza, led by a ...

Desfile cerca de Hotel Sheldon

Parade near Hotel Sheldon (opened in 1900), going down Mills ...

Desfile al sur de El Paso Street

Parade in front of 528 South El Paso Street (La Esmeralda store)

Equipo del trabajo del ferrocarril

Men working hard at the Railroad station. Image ...

Unknown Asian Family - El Paso, Texas

Unknown Asian family--image taken in downtown El Paso, Texas.

Unknown Lady - El Paso, Texas

The image of this unknown lady was taken by the photograph ...

W.E. Race y familia

W.E. Race worked for the International Water Co. at the turn of ...

Mujer desconocida

Unknown woman in oval picture frame, dressed in dressy attire ...

Edgar Race

This is a Bushong & Feldman Photograph from El Paso.

Mujer desconocida - El Paso, Texas

Unknown woman in oval frame in dressy attire. Image ...

Niños desconocidos

Unknown children playing in front of their house in El Paso, ...

A.W. Dutton

This F. Parker photograph was taken April 28th, 1887

Unknown man and child

Unknown man playing with his child in El Paso.

home.search_collection