How Zoning Laws Were Used as Weapons Against Black Communities

In the spirit of primary election season, I wanted to kick off Black History Month 2026 with this.

What Are Zoning Laws?

Think of zoning laws as the rules that decide what can be built where. They say things like “you can only build houses in this neighborhood” or “only factories can go here.” Sounds simple and harmless, right? But these laws became one of the sneakiest ways to keep Black people separated, powerless, and poor.

The Story Starts Over 100 Years Ago

In 1910, Baltimore passed the first racial zoning law in America. It literally made it illegal for Black families to move onto blocks where white people lived, and vice versa. The city officials said it out loud: they wanted to keep Black and white people separated.

Other cities copied Baltimore fast. Atlanta, New Orleans, Louisville, and dozens more passed their own versions. They were basically drawing lines on maps and saying “Black people can’t cross this line to live here.”

But here’s the thing: In 1917, the Supreme Court said “Wait, that’s too obvious. You can’t just write ‘whites only’ in the law.” So what did cities do? They got creative.

The Sneaky Switch: Economic Zoning

Since cities couldn’t say “no Black people,” they found other ways to say the exact same thing without using race words.

Here’s how it worked:

Cities would look at where Black families lived and zone those areas for things nobody wanted nearby, like:

• Factories and industrial plants
• Waste dumps
• Loud, polluting businesses

Meanwhile, they’d zone white neighborhoods as “residential only” with rules like:

• Houses had to sit on huge, expensive lots
• Only single-family homes allowed (no apartments)
• Minimum square footage requirements that made homes super expensive

The real goal? If Black families couldn’t afford the expensive requirements in “nice” neighborhoods, they’d be forced to stay in the industrial zones with all the pollution and noise.

A Real Example: Birmingham, Alabama

In Birmingham during the 1920s-1940s, city planners zoned Black neighborhoods right next to steel mills and coal mines. Black families breathed in smoke and pollution every day. Their kids played in streets covered in soot.

Just a few miles away, white neighborhoods had strict zoning: no businesses, no apartments, large yards required. Clean air. Quiet streets. Trees.

Same city. Two completely different worlds. And it was all “legal” because the law never mentioned race.

How This Hurt Black Voters

You might wonder: what does where you live have to do with voting? Everything.

Here’s the connection:

When Black neighborhoods were zoned for industrial use, several things happened:

1. Property values stayed low – Who wants to buy a house next to a factory? Low property values meant less wealth for Black families
2. Tax money stayed low – Cities collect taxes based on property values. Less valuable properties = less money for schools, parks, and services
3. People had to move around more – Bad conditions forced families to relocate frequently, making it harder to register to vote in one place
4. Politicians ignored these areas – Low property values meant less political power. Politicians focused on wealthier (white) neighborhoods

The Wealth Gap Gets Locked In

Here’s where it gets really unfair. For most American families, their home is their biggest source of wealth. When you own a home in a “good” neighborhood, it increases in value over time. You can:

• Borrow money against it
• Sell it for profit
• Pass it down to your kids

But when your neighborhood is zoned for industrial use:

• Your home value stays flat or drops
• Banks won’t give you good loans
• You can’t build wealth to pass down

White families in well-zoned neighborhoods built wealth for generations. Black families in poorly-zoned neighborhoods stayed stuck, unable to climb the economic ladder. And remember, this wasn’t an accident. It was the plan.

Redlining: Zoning’s Partner in Crime

Zoning worked hand-in-hand with something called “redlining.” Banks literally drew red lines on maps around Black neighborhoods and refused to give loans there. Even if a Black family could afford a house in a white neighborhood, they couldn’t get the loan. And even if they somehow got the money, the zoning laws made those houses too expensive to build.

It was a trap with no exit.

A Story from Louisville

In 1954, a Black family named the Wades bought a house in a white suburb of Louisville called Shively. The house met all the zoning requirements. They had the money. Everything was legal.

Their white neighbors rioted. They threw rocks through the windows. Set fires. The Wades had to have police protection just to sleep in their own home.

The city couldn’t legally kick them out because of their race. But soon after, Shively changed its zoning laws to require bigger lots and more expensive construction. The message was clear: “We can’t stop the Wades, but we’ll make sure no other Black families can afford to follow.”

Modern-Day Impact

You might think, “Okay, but that was decades ago.” True. But here’s the problem: those old zoning maps still shape our cities today.

Highways were built through Black neighborhoods in the 1950s and 60s, destroying communities that were already struggling because of zoning. Those same neighborhoods still have:

• Higher pollution levels
• Lower property values
• Worse schools (because of lower property taxes)
• Less political representation

The laws might not say “whites only” anymore, but the maps from 100 years ago still decide who lives where in many cities.

Texas Redistricting: The Fight Continues Today

If you think map manipulation to reduce Black political power is ancient history, look at what’s happening in Texas right now.

What’s Redistricting? Every ten years after the census, states redraw their voting district lines. It’s supposed to make sure each district has about the same number of people. But those who draw the lines have enormous power over who gets elected.

What Happened in Texas (2025)

In August 2025, Texas lawmakers held a special session to redraw the state’s congressional map. Here’s what they did:

In Houston:

• Eliminated District 9, a longtime Black opportunity district where Black voters could elect their choice of representative
• Packed those Black voters into District 18, the only other Black-majority district
• Result: Cut Black representation in Houston in half

In Dallas:

• Packed Black and Latino voters super tightly into Districts 30 and 33
• Spread remaining Black and Latino voters thin across six surrounding majority-white districts
• Result: Diluted Black and Latino voting power

In San Antonio:

• Packed Latino voters into District 20
• Split urban Latino populations across three sprawling districts that combine them with rural white voters
• Result: Urban Latino voices get drowned out

In Austin:

• Completely dismantled District 35, which was a Latino opportunity district
• Split Latino communities and combined them with white voters as far away as Huntsville and Corpus Christi (that’s like 200 miles!)
• Result: Destroyed Latino electoral power in the region

The Numbers Tell the Story:

• Texas is only 40% white
• But white voters control over 73% of the state’s congressional seats
• That’s not an accident. It’s by design.

The Tactics Have Names:

1. “Packing” – Cramming as many Black and Latino voters as possible into just a few districts. Sure, those districts elect Black and Latino representatives, but you’ve reduced their overall power by limiting them to fewer seats.
2. “Cracking” – Splitting Black and Latino communities across multiple districts where they’re the minority. Their votes get diluted and can’t swing elections.

What Texas Politicians Said:

Republican Senator Phil King, who sponsored the redistricting bill, was honest about the goal: “I had two goals in mind: That all maps would be legal and would be better for Republican congressional candidates in Texas.”

Notice he didn’t say “fair representation” or “reflecting the state’s diversity.” He said better for one political party.

The Legal Battles:

The NAACP and other civil rights groups immediately sued, arguing this violates the Voting Rights Act. Here’s what they’re fighting:

• Since the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965, Texas has been found to have discriminated against Black and Latino voters after EVERY SINGLE redistricting cycle
• Courts had previously required Texas to create districts where Black and Latino voters could elect their preferred candidates
• Now Texas is dismantling those very districts

Why This Matters:

This isn’t just about Texas. It shows that the same tools used 100 years ago are still being used today:

• Draw lines on maps
• Separate communities by race (but call it “partisan politics”)
• Reduce Black and Latino political power
• Make it “legal”

The faces have changed. The language is more careful. But the result is the same: keeping Black and brown voters from having equal say in their democracy.

Why This Matters for Voting

Let’s connect all the dots:

Zoning determined where Black people could live → That determined property values → That determined school quality and city services → That determined wealth → That determined political power

Even today, majority-Black neighborhoods often have:

• Fewer polling places (longer wait times to vote)
• Less political influence (politicians focus on wealthier areas)
• Lower turnout (harder when you’re working multiple jobs to make ends meet)

Zoning created a system where zip code predicted your whole life: your wealth, your health, your education, and yes, your ability to make your vote count.

The Bottom Line

Zoning laws and redistricting might sound boring and technical. But they were and still are some of the most powerful tools used to keep Black Americans separated, poor, and powerless.

When people talk about “systemic racism,” this is a perfect example. Nobody has to use slurs. Nobody has to be openly hateful. Just draw some lines on a map, write some rules about lot sizes or district boundaries, and you can control where people live, how much wealth they can build, and how much political power they can have.

From the 1910s to 2025, the playbook hasn’t really changed:

• Draw lines on maps
• Use neutral-sounding language (“economic zoning,” “partisan advantage”)
• Separate Black and brown communities from power and resources
• Call it legal

Understanding this history helps us see why many Black communities still struggle today. It wasn’t bad choices or bad luck. It was bad laws designed on purpose to keep people down.

And as Texas shows us, the fight isn’t over. It’s still happening right now.

That’s something every American should know.