The politics of reparations and Black homeownership

As definitive decisions on examples of reparations solutions come closer and closer to some semblance of being definitive, particularly in California with the new presentation of a slew of 2024 legislative enactments, more and more scrutiny seems to be focused on the issue of Black home homeownership in L.A. and in California in general. Connected to that emphasis is a renewed look at the rise in deed fraud, which is not a new crime but increasingly today, a more sophisticated one. Black homeowners, be warned!! Property theft and fraud are increasing.
Known as deed fraud or home title theft, the scheme involves forging documents to record a phony transfer of property ownership. Criminals can then sell the home, take out a mortgage on it, or even rent it out to tenants to turn a profit.
Here are four steps you can take to prevent deed fraud:
(a) Pay attention to incoming bills.
(b) Check the status of your property deed. …
(c) Regularly monitor your credit reports for signs of identity theft…
(d) Check to see if you have a title insurance policy or buy one when refinancing.
But even given all that, isn’t black homeownership declining in California and the U.S.??
The latest stats (2024) show a modest annual uptick to 44.1% home ownership in 2022 from 44% in 2021 for Black folk, but that is negligible and remains well behind the White homeownership rate of 72%. Overall, Black Americans still own disproportionately the smallest share of homes in 50 of the largest US metros. Some experts say that statistics will not significantly change until the federal housing administration increases its down payment assistance to potential Black homeowners. “Many Black families earn enough to make monthly payments on mortgage loans, but they lack the savings to pay the 20% down payments required,” said one official, noting that nationwide data shows that Whites have eight times the wealth of Black people.
In fact, such FHA mortgage insurance was largely denied to Black people from the 1930s until the Kennedy Administration. “(and remains a significant problem even now). Homeownership was the vehicle that elevated working class White families to the middle class. “The wealth creation made possible for white families through these public/private partnerships was (and still is) systematically denied forBlack families.”
Relooking at this is important because, ” the wealth built by White families is passed on to millennials today from their grandparents and great grandparents. This money is often the down payment assistance White millennials receive. Black families do not generally have 2nd and 3rd generation wealth to pass on to millennial grandchildren. This is due to the racial discrimination by the government and the real estate industry.”
This includes that part of Los Angeles still called “The Black Beverly Hills,” though that is not its real name. Instead, now, so-called Black Beverly Hills is made up of a group of prominent Black neighborhoods — Baldwin Hills, Ladera Heights, Windsor Hills, View Park, and significant parts of Leimert Park — located in the heart of Los Angeles near and along Crenshaw Boulevard. Due to the large number of successful Black residents who started putting down roots in the area, the neighborhood became known for its wealth and luxury, hence the nickname, taking the name of the former area in the Adams district.
In order for this thriving area to grow and expand, the correctives mentioned above must be utilized. And, according to the 2023 report from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the average life expectancy for Black residents in L.A. County is 74.8 years — 12 years lower than Asians (86.6 years) and 6 ? years lower than the County average (81.3 years). Additionally, factors like segregation, environmental toxins, and lack of access to adequate housing, education, nutritious foods, and health care all contribute to racial disparities in health outcomes and, ultimately, life expectancy rates. “Black people had the smallest homeownership rate in L.A. County, 33.5% compared to 53.9% for white, 54.0% for Asians, and 39.1 % for Latinos as of Oct 10, 2023,” when the report was written. Black residents (61.9%) were also less likely than White (69%), Asian (69%), and Latino residents (64%) to have their mortgage applications accepted.
Black Angelenos are vastly overrepresented among those experiencing homelessness. Current estimates show that Black Angelenos still make up at least 30% of the existing homeless population despite being less than 10% of the overall population in LA County.
This, as the rest of the country remains roiled in crazy politics.
Professor David L. Horne is founder and executive director of PAPPEI, the Pan African Public Policy and Ethical Institute, which is a new 501(c)(3) pending community-based organization or non-governmental organization (NGO). It is the stepparent organization for the California Black Think Tank which still operates and which meets every fourth Friday.
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