Housing Segregation in Nashville
Exploring the legacy of de jure segregation in Nashville
Introduction
The story of racial housing segregation in Nashville begins after the Civil War, as freed Blacks became increasingly integrated with Whites at the residential level. In the late 19th century, Nashville was remarkably integrated with only 6 areas that were more heavily populated by African Americans. Modern Nashville is a much different story, as shown in the 2000 census where "30 Nashville census tracts are more than 50% black, and 18 of those are more than 80% black." What brought about this drastic change? A potent combination of Jim Crow laws, redlining, and urban renewal projects all aimed to segregate African Americans from Whites. We will take a closer look at how de jure, legal, policies set Nashville on its modern trajectory of racial and economic segregation.
History of Segregation
While the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in 1865, Jim Crow laws and other informal practices continued to reinforce the unfair treatment of African Americans compared to their White counterparts. This discrimination caused Blacks to face severe injustice and inequality. However, during the late 1800s, there was more Black-White integration in Nashville than there exists today. Pre-1900s, black residents and white residents shared streets and neighborhoods throughout the city. However, right before the turn of the century, as cities urbanized and new technologies allowed individuals to live longer distances from their jobs, the segregation became more apparent.
The post Civil War prevalence of urban integration began disappearing just before the 1900s. The twentieth century, with its rising industrialization and blacks’ rural-to-urban migration, started elevating tensions in race relations and foreshadowed the beginning of a steady rise in residential segregation between blacks and whites. In the South, residential segregation increased at a slower rate than in the North; there was less industrialization and more reliance on the Jim Crow system for racial inferiority. Through private organizational means, the color line of residential segregation was carved in our urban landscape. Residential segregation is a modern, institutionally generated phenomenon, despite the beliefs that it has been with us for centuries.
History of Redlining and Modern Implications
In the late 1930s, the Home Owner's Loan Corporation, created residential security maps of major cities, including Nashville, in order to deny minority residents access to equal loan and housing opportunities. The mere presence of African Americans in a neighborhood, even if it was solidly middle class, earned a rating of "hazardous". The Federal Housing Administration compounded these policies by refusing to insure loans in racially mixed or black areas. Redlining has had long-lasting effects in cities across the United States that can still be seen today. Today, there is a reality that even when black families have the same or higher incomes than white families, they still have less wealth, as a result of their limited abilities to buy a home. These statistics best illustrate the reality - in Nashville, a home in a formerly “hazardous” neighborhood is worth on average $281,000 while a home in a “best” neighborhood is worth $648,000 . And, white Nashvillians have a 40 percent edge on people of color in making up the best neighborhoods.
Today, we can still see the effects of these boundaries throughout the city. Owning properties has historically been the ideal way to grow wealth. In Nashville, 68% of White residents own their own homes, compared to roughly 34% of African Americans and 40% of Hispanics. This ranks Nashville as the 24th largest gap in the US among the 50 largest metro areas. Redlining has created enduring discrepancies in home ownership in cities across the United States, including Nashville. While redlining and other prejudiced practices were prohibited as part of the Fair Housing Act of 1968, the implementation of these boundaries set Nashville's neighborhoods on their modern path.
The Home Owner's Corporation classified neighborhoods in cities like Nashville into four categories. As seen in the map, the categories were “best,” (A - green) “still desirable,”( B - Blue) “definitely declining” (C - green) and “hazardous.” (D - red) The higher the grade of the area, the higher the population of white people and the safer for investors to take on mortgage loans. In addition to redlining, the partitioning of resources perpetuated divisions. In the 1990s, the Department of Housing and Urban Development developed Hope VI, a program that allowed local housing authorities to revitalize old housing units in partnership with the federal government. The aims of this plan were good, but in their application, the funds weren't equitably distributed. According to a report on Housing Segregation by the Metro Human Relations Commission, disproportionally displaced Black families in Nashville, forcing them away from the urban central to the suburbs that have been the hardest hit in terms of single-family rental conversions.
Jefferson Street
A closer look at the Jefferson Street Neighborhood, zip code 37208, tells the larger story of housing segregation in Nashville. This area of North Nashville known now as Jefferson Street, has been a historically Black neighborhood since the settlement of African Americans around Fort Gillem in 1864. 3 Historically Black colleges, Tennessee State, Fisk University, and Meharry Medical College are located near here. Beyond redlining, the 1955 planned construction of Interstate 40 had the highway running right through this neighborhood. The initial plan had the highway running near White business, hospitals, and colleges (Vanderbilt). Knowing the detrimental effects this would have, the community sued the state of Tennessee in US District Court for a lack of public hearings and alleging racial discrimination in the choice of the highway's path. The changes from the initial plan actually put 3 times as many businesses and 2 times as many homes at risk of being affected. The Courts sided with the State, and the construction of I-40 lead to the demolition of 128 businesses that made up nearly 80% of Nashville's African American proprietorships. In addition, 650 homes and 27 apartment buildings were destroyed. It's also important to note that the FHA supported mortgages where highways or boulevards acted as barriers between whites and African Americans.
Today, Jefferson Street is the site of gentrification, as developers aim to buy out residents and business owners. Residents feel that though this isn't redlining, it has the same spirit of segregation. As one resident said in regards to receiving offers for his custom framing business, "It's hard to quantify with just numbers what some of those institutions mean to the culture in the neighborhood and the fabric of Nashville."
Modern Gentrification: Crane Watch
The map to the right shows the location of currently active construction projects in the city.
Though the Fair Housing Act of 1968 outlawed redlining and discriminatory zoning laws, its illegality is in name only, as in practice, housing segregation continues to exist. The process of gentrification, observed throughout much of the country’s cityscapes, is playing out in Nashville too. Areas that have been predominantly African American thanks to the practice of redlining and segregated housing projects are now seeing massive multimillion-dollar developments. Wealthy and middle-class whites left the cities throughout the early 20th century to escape the noise, the pollution, and minorities, in the process referred to as White Flight. What we are seeing now, in cities like Nashville, is the exact reverse of that process. White professionals are flocking to cities as they rediscover, so to speak, urban life. Not surprisingly, the areas that are seeing the largest number of projects, and the biggest sticker prices, are the red-coded areas. This process leads to higher and higher property prices, which eventually prices out the lower-income tenants. Gentrification has the reverse target of previous segregation- this time it is urban spaces that are being reserved for whites, - and it is functionally different - the mechanism of segregation is now massive development and urban "renewal",- but it has, in the end, the same effect, economically beneficial areas reserved for whites, and blighted areas reserved for everybody else.
This map shows multifamily construction projects in the city of Nashville.
This the cruel irony of gentrification: the legacies of Jim Crow, exclusionary zoning, and redlining all operated to deny African-Americans in cities the kinds of beautiful urban construction projects that would have made neighborhoods both desirable and economically beneficial. Making these types of investments in these kinds of neighborhoods never made sense because that was where "they" lived. Gentrification has made it so "they" don't live there anymore, so it makes sense to spend a few hundred million dollars on a development. We robbed African-Americans of the chance to live in these kinds of places, only to subtly force them out of their old neighborhoods to build precisely these kinds of places.
Jefferson Street as a Cultural Center
"Black people were able to look at North Nashville as their own freedom... And similar to the North Star, Jefferson will continue to be forward-facing, forward-thinking, and forward-moving." - Brigette Jones, curator of social history for the Tennessee State Museum
In a further exploration of the Jefferson Street neighborhood, its importance goes beyond it being spatial evidence of segregation. The title of the documentary, Facing North, characterizes Jefferson Street as a cultural "North Star" for the African American community. From acting as a sanctuary to runaway slaves in the Civil War, its look to education and future with 3 HBCUs, and an entertainment and music scene to rival Music Row. One historian describes it as, "a lab for some of the most important historical, social and cultural events in the U.S. South". For the future, Jefferson Street continues to be a "North Star" in its balance of rejuvenation and gentrification. Though the tornado somewhat dimmed its light, the star still shines and illuminates a progressive future.
Affordable Housing Across Nashville: How the cranes disproportionately demolish and displace
The video above is a documentary on the housing crisis that Nashville is facing at this moment and how minorities/BIPOC are being disproportionately impacted. The Barnes Affordable Housing Trust aims to fund non-profit developers who are trying to provide a space for long-time, low-income residents amidst the gentrification and development. Approximately $30 million has been requested to construct or refurbish affordable units. Nashville has been named the "hottest real estate market" in the country, and while many celebrate this growth, it's crucial to remember those who are being displaced and enact structural mechanisms to either allow them to stay or provide a transition.
Spatial Overview
Nashville
The capitol of Tennessee, home to the Grand Ole Opry, Country Music Hall of Fame, and Vanderbilt.
Music Row
Nashville - the capitol of Country Music
Vanderbilt University
Nationally-ranked, prestigious University.
The true story of Nashville is more than country music.
To fully understand modern housing segregation in Nashville, one must examine the history of de jure segregation and the legacy of de facto.
Jefferson Street
The Jefferson Street neighborhood is squared out. This neighborhood is important as it's a historically black neighborhood in which 128 black-owned buildings were demolished so that Interstate-40 could be built. Black residents took the steering decision to court, as it was clearly racist, but the courts ultimately sided with the State.
Capitol Hill Urban Renewal
The Nashville Housing Authority began its "urban renewal" in 1949 of the low-income, historically Black Capitol Hill. The area was called "Hell's Half-Acre" due to the poor conditions. Of the 1,549 people relocated during this process, 1,451 were Black.
Gentrification: Modern Urban Renewal
Today in Nashville, the housing crisis has emerged out of gentrification of historically black neighborhoods. This woman has a "not for sale" sign on her house to make it clear to developers that she isn't leaving.
Nolensville Pike - the next Capitol Hill?
Nolensville Pike is an ethnically diverse neighborhood that has remained affordable to business owners and residents. With the neighborhood's proximity to the interstate, it's prime for redevelopment and long-time residents are worried they will be displaced. The difference from Capitol Hill, is that residents have a voice and advocacy groups have made recommendations to governmental authorities about how to ensure equitable development.
Conclusion
The de jure policies of redlining, resource allocation, highway construction, and "urban renewal" shaped Nashville and set it on its modern trajectory of de facto segregation. Housing segregation goes beyond spatial impacts - communities are divided, wealth inequities stem from a lack of home ownership, and the location of resources like schools, hospitals, and libraries perpetuate divisions and have tangible impacts on everyday life. All of these factors form a negative reinforcement loop that generates a cycle of inequity. Today, gentrification may not be de jure segregation, but its effects are the nonetheless the same. Structural wealth inequality doesn't just happen - there's a system that enables it, and this project aimed to illustrate the system that lead to this in Nashville. Looking forward, the only way to resolve a systemic problem is to change the system. In Nashville as evidenced by the crane watch maps, zoning laws need to be reformed to encourage multi-family housing. Fixing this issue won't come easy, nor will it come quick. It will take systematic change, long-term investment - a true society-wide effort. Past wrongs left to fester don't just fix themselves; redressing historic wrongs is an active endeavor, and a just one.
Credits:
Introduction: Izzy Jones
History of Segregation and of Redlining: Paula Jimeno Lara
Jefferson Street Discussion: Izzy Jones
Modern Gentrification: Agustin Tornabene
Conclusion: Izzy Jones and Agustin Tornabene
Research Sources:
Rothstein, R. (2018). The color of law: A forgotten history of how our government segregated America. New York: Liveright Publishing Corporation, a division of W.W. Norton & Company.
https://fox17.com/news/local/50-years-later-black-nashvillians-still-fight-to-overcome-effects-of-redlining
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=8dba65584072450ca8928a5f3408373f
Kirkland, M. (2006, March). A History of Black and White Residential Segregation in America. Retrieved 2020, from https://www.harryphillipsaic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/A-History-of-Black-White-Residential-Segregation.pdf
Understanding Nashville's Housing Crisis, Part 3:Residential Segregation: How Did Ti Happen and Why Does It Persist?, Metro Human Relations Commission, https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a4fff662278e7426fdcb17c/t/5d7657ffb00ef51f94b585de/1568036877023/MHRC+Housing+Report+Part+3_Stacked.pdf.
Jefferson Street - https://www.newschannel5.com/news/jefferson-street-gentrification-exposes-racial-fault-lines
Media Sources:
Redlining Map - Robert K. Nelson, LaDale Winling, Richard Marciano, Nathan Connolly, et al., “Mapping Inequality,” American Panorama, ed. Robert K. Nelson and Edward L. Ayers, accessed November 15, 2020, https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/#loc=12/36.151/-86.881&city=nashville-tn&text=downloads.
Crane Watch maps - https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/maps/nashville-crane-watch
Jefferson Street Documentary - Nashville Public Television, https://www.wnpt.org/jefferson-street/
Housing Segregation Video - The Tennessean, https://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/columnists/david-plazas/2018/07/13/affordable-housing-nashville-urban-crisis-grows-more-severe/777899002/
Map Tour Images have attributions.