The Federal Housing Act of 1949, which was in effect from 1949 through 1973, authorized cities to use the power of eminent domain to clear “blighted neighborhoods” for “higher use.” According to an excellent paper published by the Institute for Justice, “Eminent Domain and African Americans,” written by Mindy Thomson Fillilove, MD, in 24 years, 2,532 projects were carried out in 992 cities that displaced one million people, two-thirds of them African American. African Americans, who were 12% of the population in the US, were five times more likely to… read more
February 9, 2023