Eviction isn’t just about poverty. It’s also about race — and Virginia proves it.

New research, however, is complicating that picture of eviction in America. It’s not only a matter of poverty. It’s also a matter of race.

News Story (Virginia)

Terrence McCoy
November 10, 2018
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Tags: Housing: Eviction, Racial Justice

Organizations mentioned/involved: Central Virginia Legal Aid Society, Virginia Poverty Law Center (VPLC)

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DETAILS

That’s the striking conclusion of researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University, who published a report this fall that found eviction rates are disproportionately high in minority communities. Across the state, roughly 60 percent of majority African American neighborhoods have an annual eviction rate higher than 10 percent of households — roughly four times the national average — even after controlling for poverty and income rates.

In Richmond, where some neighborhoods have rates of eviction higher than 33 percent, the results have been even more stark. For every 10 percent increase in African American share of the population, the eviction rate increases by 1.2 percent. But if the white population increases at the same rate, the eviction rate shrinks by .9 percent.