Cincinnati’s vice mayor announced plans for reparations to address local laws that prevented a number of Black people from owning property.
First reported by the Cincinnati Enquirer, the proposal is part of the Cincinnati Real Property Reparations Program. Through the program, the city would help residents from 15 out of the 52 local neighborhoods. Although no specific list was given, amongst the neighborhoods that could be selected for the program are English Woods, Millvale, Queensgate, Lower Price Hill, Roselawn, Avondale and the Villages at Roll Hill.
majority of these neighborhoods are predominantly Black.
The plan would specifically provide financial assistance to lower and moderate-income citizens and any person or family member of a person who was not allowed to purchase a home due to “discriminatory practices.”
No approximate number was given for how much would be provided. The reparations program, however, will address totals needed for property taxes, down payments and emergency repairs.
The measure was initially introduced on Feb. 19th and is cosponsored by Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Leon Kearney and Councilman Scotty Johnson. The proposal is expected to be heard by the City Council on Wednesday. Approximately $5 million will be devoted to the Reparations Program if approved.
“We move that the administration establish the Cincinnati Real Property Reparations Program in order to create the opportunity for Cincinnati’s residents to build wealth by having the means to own and preserve ownership in real property,” wrote the sponsors in the official motion document.
Although Kearney has confirmed the program will not be race-based, it is set to address a number of discriminatory practices that were aimed at keeping Black residents from owning property. Along with current mortgage disparities and discrimination in GI Bill housing benefits, the program will look as far back as policies from the 1920s.
According to the Center for Community Resilience, in the 1920s, the Cincinnati Real Estate Board was required by the government to prevent Black residents from purchasing homes in majority-white neighborhoods. As the city’s Black population continued to grow, residents were forced into specific neighborhoods with as many as 94 people living in 12-room tenements.
By the 1930s, Cincinnati’s government continued to discriminate, enforcing redlining practices that kept Black residents within the West End. Amongst the ways they enforced this was by making loans difficult for Black residents to obtain, alongside zoning laws.
When public housing projects eventually developed, residents were segregated, keeping Black citizens in the West End.
The effects of the discriminatory policies are still visible today. Per the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, just 34% of Black residents in Cincinnati own a home. This is a stark disparity from the 74% of white residents who own their homes. Black residents are also twice as likely to be denied a home loan, comprising just 15% of mortgage applicants.
“When Black communities lose access to lending and when loans in Black neighborhoods are granted mainly to white buyers, patterns of gentrification intensify,” said HOME’s policy and research coordinator, Clementine Deck, per a press release. “This erodes generational wealth and disproportionately impacts historic Black neighborhoods.”
