The U.S. housing market has never been a fair and open system – Red Line Maps are evidence of this fact.

Many black African Americans had to pursue their desire for home ownership outside the established banking system. Some managed to tap into other financial resources or cobble together the money in spite of the discriminatory obstacles they faced. But for most people the dream of homeownership depended upon luck and the roll of the dice because the deck was stacked against them. Today, black families, regardless of income, are significantly less wealthy than white families. The Red Line Maps of 1938 is a reason why.

My own family managed to escape this reality that so many other people of similar background and desire did not. This is a legacy that doesn’t sit entirely well with me.

It’s a strange paradox.