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MODULE 5:  Shelley Halstead 
Home Ownership and Wealth Creation

Introduction

Throughout the 20th century, federally subsidized superhighways and mortgage loan programs financed the flight of White residents out of industrial cities like Baltimore and into sprawling new suburban communities.   At the same time, government sanctioned urban renewal programs led to the displacement of thousands of Black residents and a precipitous shift in public resources away from many of the Black neighborhoods that remained.  The result has been a 40% drop in Baltimore’s population that’s left behind 15,000 vacant houses and scores of Black neighborhoods in search of investment, businesses, and jobs. Shelley Halstead is the founder and executive director of Black Women Build.  A nonprofit that promotes home ownership and wealth creation by training Black women in carpentry and building trades as they restore vacant and deteriorated houses in West Baltimore neighborhoods like Druid Heights.

Behavioral Objectives and Study Materials

After completing this module students should be able to…

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  1. Understand the cumulative impact that the following Anti-Black publicly sanctioned and financed housing demolition programs have had on "white flight", forced displacement, and the availability of housing in historically redlined neighborhoods.

    1. Public health "Slum Clearance"

    2. Public housing demolition

    3. Project CORE

    4. Hope VI

    5. Eminent domain

  2. Identify the anti-Black private, legal, and public health structures that created and sanctioned racial segregation and exploitation in predominantly Black U.S. towns and cities 

  3. Compare and contrast the intended and realized benefits of the following tools utilized by the city of Baltimore to address vacant houses and community (dis)investment in historically redlined neighborhoods.

    1. Eminent domain

    2. Vacants to Value

    3. Receivership

    4. Code enforcement

    5. Land banking

    6. Demolition

  4. Describe the resources and strategies that Baltimore communities have used to avoid housing demolition and secure investment in their neighborhoods.

  5. Identify the city agencies/offices and key decision makers that direct the following roles in housing and community investment:

    1. Code enforcement and inspections

    2. Demolition (public and private housing)

    3. Receivership

    4. Economic development

    5. Public Housing

    6. Zoning

    7. Building and Permitting

  6. Identify how organizations, businesses, and institutions like Black Women Build are using a user centered, community owned process to create jobs and home ownership for Black women in majority Black cities like Baltimore.

  7. Select key publicly available indexes and indicators that may help define the economic and non-economic returns on investment in redlined communities like Druid Heights.

  8. Reflect on your own personal bias' and the empathy required to make investments in entrepreneurs and companies that are creating inclusive models of home ownership and job creation in historically redlined neighborhoods.

Interview with Shelley Halstead, founder of Black Women Build

Suggested Questions, Activities, Assignments, and Reflections

REFLECTION

In the film Shelley Halstead described the bias of white decision makers and developers “who can’t imagine living” on blocks like the 1900 block of Etting St (13:46). How might this bias effect their opinions about the potential value of those houses and their likelihood to invest in communities like Druid Heights?   What steps would you take as an investor to understand the potential value of houses renovated by Black Women Build? What research would you use and who would you talk with to help you determine that value of homeownership for the builder/occupants and for the community?

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QUESTIONS

  1. Compare and contrast the cumulative impact that the following housing demolition programs that have been financed and sanctioned by the State of Maryland and the Housing Authority of Baltimore City have had on "white flight", forced displacement, and the availability of housing in historically redlined neighborhoods.

    • Public health "Slum Clearance"

    • Public housing demolition

    • Project CORE

    • Hope VI

    • Eminent domain

    • Receivership and the Vacants to Value program

  2. Define Tax Increment Financing, Enterprise Zones, and Opportunity Zones.  How have each of these City and State programs directed money to redlined neighborhoods without providing true community wealth to the residents living in those neighborhoods? Who have been the beneficiaries of these programs?

  3. Define TIF and PILOT tax breaks. How have they been used to effectively divert public money from communities to outside developers?

  4. Select key publicly available indexes and indicators from public sources like the that may help define the economic and community returns on investment in redlined communities like Druid Heights.

  5. What does Shelly Halstead say is the most critical community wealth need in West Baltimore neighborhoods like Druid Heights? How is BWB and its mission helping to address that need and building community wealth in the neighborhood?

  6. Identify how organizations, businesses, and institutions like Black Women Build are using a user centered, community owned process to create jobs and home ownership for Black women in majority Black cities like Baltimore.

  7. Consider what you have learned about Shelley, Black Women Build’s mission, and the neighborhoods around Druid Heights from the lens of an equitable impact investor. What would be some worthwhile “community wealth” outcomes that you might expect to see as a return on your investment?

  8. Describe the resources and strategies that Baltimore communities have used to avoid housing demolition and secure investment in neighborhoods like Poppleton.

Resources

  1. L.T. Brown. The Black Butterfly: The Harmful Politics of Race and Space in America. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Baltimore, MD. 2021.Track 4: pp. 131-148; Track 6: pp. 215-225

  2. Wagner, R. Demolition begins on Perkins Homes, making way for East Baltimore redevelopment plan. Baltimore Sun. June 24, 2021.
  3. Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance

  4. CBS Local: City needs to do more': Baltimore leaders introduce bills to crack down on vacant property owners.

  5. Wells, C. Five years in, city Vacants to Value program showing mixed results. Baltimore Sun. Nov 12, 2015.  

  6. Reuter, M. Ousted as Port Covington’s developer, Marc Weller leaves behind a $650 million “game changer” in search of occupants. Baltimore Brew.  May 19, 2022.

  7. Miller, H. As Baltimore’s Poppleton neighborhood braces for change, residents liken it to a ‘family’ being broken apart. Baltimore Sun. Jul 23, 2021. 

  8. Miller, H et al.  Residents win fight to save Poppleton properties from redevelopment project. Baltimore Banner. July 18, 2022.

  9. Frisa, K. Women of Color in Construction Share Insights on Dealing with Biases. Jobsite. June 7, 2021.

  10. Jensen, C. Reservoir Hill tenants protest what they call poor housing conditions, unresponsive landlord: ‘This is unacceptable’. Baltimore Sun. August 19, 2022.

  11. Baltimore City Department of Housing & Community Development.

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Suggested Questions, Activities, Assignments, and Reflections

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