Congress established the Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) Act of 1933 and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Act of 1934, bringing homeownership opportunities to millions of citizens by refinancing home mortgages to prevent foreclosure. These acts placed the credit of the federal government behind private lending to refinance home mortgages through overly racist ranking systems that channeled capital towards whites for suburban housing construction and diverted money and investment away from urban centers disproportionately inhabited by Black residents and communities of color.
The Residential Security Maps created by HOLC, commonly referred to as "redlining maps," encouraged discriminatory investment practices, urban divestment, wealth inequality, and entrenched racial segregation by instructing loan officers, appraisers, and real estate professionals how to evaluate mortgage lending risks. Redlining maps served as atlases of displacement—codifying racial and economic segregation and spatial inequality through a 'risk' value system, ranking levels of security and risks in mortgage lending and real estate development. HOLC hid its practice of redlining from the general public. Yep, the FHA’s Underwriting Manual systematically institutionalized its rating system, encouraging the rapid suburbanization and segregation of metropolitan areas through mortgage lending, private real estate interests, and discriminatory public policies.
The FHA's underwriting practices, coupled with the Veterans Administration's G.I. Bill and the U.S. Housing Authority's funding priorities, restricted lending and investment opportunities by location—deciding whether loans would be issued based primarily on the racial and ethnic demographics of a community. These policies promoted racial, gender, and economic discrimination as they were designed to make it more affordable for white families to purchase homes. For decades, nearly all mortgages underwritten by the FHA supported white families. Using FHA guidelines, private banks and federal financing institutions regularly discriminated against Black households seeking mortgage assistance in the neighborhoods they resided in and those they attempted to relocate to.
1940s desk and chair, lamp, telephone, and related ephemera. Reproduced 1930s United Housing Authority posters, Homeowner's Loan Corporation security district map, or redlining map, and an original Federal Housing Administration (FHA) banner in the background.
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1940s desk and chair, lamp, telephone, and related ephemera featuring United Housing Authority posters and HOLC redlining map of New Orleans and FHA's 1936 Underwriting Manual.
Photo: Shana M. griffin, 2021
Slums Breed Crime, U.S. Housing Authority poster, Lester Beall, 1941, recreated, 18" x 24"
Homeowner's Loan Corporation security district map or redlining map of New Orleans.
Photo: Shana M. griffin, 2021
Original 'Better Housing Program,' Federal Housing Administration poster, 1934, 14" x 22"
Photo: Shana M. griffin, 2021
1940s desk and chair, lamp, telephone, and original 1930s FHA buttons and brochure.
Photo: Shana M. griffin, 2021
Recreated 1941 USHA posters by Lester Beall and FHA's Better Housing Program poster from 1934.
Photo: Shana M. griffin, 2021
1940s desk and chair, lamp, telephone, FHA banner, and related ephemera featuring recreated Federal Housing Administrations' 1936 Unwriting Manuals.
Photo: Shana M. griffin, 2021
Full Installation - 1940s desk and chair, lamp, telephone, and related ephemera. Reproduced 1930s United Housing Authority posters, Homeowner's Loan Corporation security district map or redlining map, original Federal Housing Administration (FHA) banner, reproduced FHA Underwriting Manuals, and 'Home for Who' art piece, 2021.
Photo: Shana M. griffin, 2021