My favorite Diary of Systemic Injustices I wanted to expand on was writing about the demographic of my high school class. I graduated from Upper Arlington High School in 2019 which is located in a suburb about ten minutes from the Ohio State campus. Growing up I spent most of my time with classmates that looked like myself when it came to skin tone (white). I recently stumbled across an article that stated back in 1970, many deeds of homes in Upper Arlington did not allow “non-caucasian” people to purchase the homes. This was very surprising to me because I never thought there were actual barriers of entry to living in Upper Arlington until now. During my research, I was shocked to see that the first home accused of having a deed restricting purchases by minorities was actually on a one minute drive from my house!
This is systemic injustice because the City of Upper Arlington allowed these deeds to discriminate against non-caucasians. A cutout from a 1971 newspaper talked about the first time charges were filed against the Thompson family owning the home shown in the photo.
According to the UA-Archives over the last 40 years, the city of Upper Arlington has had a population of 92.1% caucasian, leaving only 7.9% as minorities. This is very concerning and is likely due to these house deeds discrimination. Although I would assume these systemic injustices are not in place today, the minority races are likely to avoid living in Upper Arlington due to its history. When relating this event of systemic injustice to something from class, the first thing that comes to mind is actually our current unit about The Leavers by Lisa Ko. I believe these relate because The Leavers is highly connected to immigration and the struggles that come from it. This act by the Thompson family put minorities including immigrants at a disadvantage in the city of Upper Arlington and added to the narrative written by Lisa Ko in The Leavers. Overall, this systemic injustice has had an impact on me because I was not able to experience a greater diversity of classmates while in school K-12 because my hometown made the barrier of entry harder for people who don’t look like myself. I am hopeful my city can continue to grow its minority population for the future of Upper Arlington students.
Works Cited:
A Case of Race, 29 Oct. 2011, www.unshovelingthepast.com/2011/10/case-of-race.html.
Hello, I really enjoyed reading your showcase. Similarly, I had no idea that Upper Arlington had these housing deeds; I grew up in Westerville, so I am very familiar with the Upper Arlington area and school district. The most astounding fact to me, besides the fact of the deeds existing in the first place, was how recent these deeds were in place. Your inclusion of the statistics of Upper Arlington based on racial categories made me curious of the statistics of Westerville. According to the United States Census Bureau, Westerville is about 87% Caucasian. As you mention in your post, I hope that Westerville, and other greater Columbus suburbs, can show an increase in racial diversity.