The Three R’s (Relief, Recovery and Reform) were created under the New Deal to give relief for the poor, recovery of the economy and reform of the nation’s financial system to safeguard against future depression.

The creation of Home Owners Loan Cooperation (HOLC) was for Reform. HOLC established lending requirement to help homeowners pay their mortgages, prevent homelessness and avert banks from going under. The Residential Security Map created by HOLC used the following color and graded coding system to evaluate neighborhoods.

The Three R’s of Franklin D. Roosevelt, relief, recovery and reform created the Three I’s for Black Americans, Injustice, Inequities and Inequalities. The Three(3) R’s allowed HOLC to create Redlining.

A (Best): Always upper- or upper-middle-class White neighborhoods that HOLC defined as posing minimal risk for banks and other mortgage lenders, as they were "ethnically homogeneous" and had room to be further developed.

B (Still Desirable): Generally nearly or completely White, U.S. -born neighborhoods that HOLC defined as "still desirable" and sound investments for mortgage lenders.

C (Declining): Areas where the residents were often working-class and/or first or second generation immigrants from Europe. These areas often lacked utilities and were characterized by older building stock.

D (Hazardous): Areas here often received this grade because they were "infiltrated" with "undesirable populations" such as Black families. These areas were more likely to be close to industrial areas and to have older housing.

In 1935 HOLC parent organization, Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLBB) adopted the practice of Redlining created by HOLC. The Residential Security Map would not only be used to evaluate lending risk, it would also be used by the Veterans Administration, appraisers, federal agencies, insurance companies, private lenders, developers, and real estate professionals as a way to deny black people the right to purchase homes, acquire mortgages, build generational wealth and establish themselves as functioning Americans

1930s

As a result of the Great Depression, many Americans were at risk of losing their homes. In response to the rising amount of Foreclosure the Federal Government created Homeowner’s Loan Corporation (HOLC), to evaluate which areas in Philadelphia should receive assistance in the form of mortgages, refinance, and insurance to prevent foreclosures.

1935

In 1935 HOLC parent organization the Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLBB) established Redlining as a practice for lending to specific areas across the United States that was created by HOLC.

1951

HOLC ceased operations in 1951, yet redlining was still legal and used to deny African Americans the right to own housing

1968

The Fair Housing Act—a law finally prohibiting discrimination concerning the sale, rental and financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin, and sex was established.

The Ramification of Redlining can be seen today in the form of

Reduced Home Ownership in the areas that were Redlined by the individuals who reside in these areas
Low Home Values of previously Redlined Areas
Gentrification
Racial Segregation and limited diversity in areas previously Redlined
Racial Wealth Gap between black people unable to purchase homes and their white counterparts
Redlined neighborhoods struggle to collect property taxes to provide sufficient resources for public services, education, schools, libraries, policing, fire department and health.
Redlined areas plagued with poverty, disproportional numbers of drug rehabilitation centers, and homeless shelter, food desserts, and lack of economic development