WFAA, November 22, ‘They underestimate what we can do’: WFAA finds banks exclude Blacks, Hispanics in Southern Dallas from access to loans
A WFAA investigation found that Interstate 30 is a line that many banks use to determine who their customers are, and who they are not.
North of I-30 is where 57 percent of the people in Dallas live – and where you’ll find some of the whitest and wealthiest communities in North Texas, according to the Child Poverty Action Lab, based on U.S. Census data and data from the American Community Survey.
South of 30 is mostly Black and Hispanic people, with 38% of people living below the poverty line.
Some of the reasons for that go back to an old practice called redlining. This map, from 1937, literally colors minority communities red. For decades, banks used these maps to openly deny loans to minorities – mainly Black communities – and government said it was OK.
And how about today?
A group called the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) has tallied all the bank branches in Dallas County. Above I-30, there are 474. Southern Dallas has 58.
