Redlining remains relevant today because:

• A. Because its negative effects are still being felt in communities that were redlined
• B. Because it was illegal decades ago and is no longer relevant
• C. Because it only affected rural neighborhoods
• D. Because it led to immediate and complete recovery in affected areas

Answer: (A)

The lasting impact of discriminatory lending practices on wealth and neighborhood opportunity is being tested. Redlining systematically denied mortgage credit and insurance to people living in certain neighborhoods, often based on race or ethnicity. That created immediate disinvestment and, over generations, led to lower property values, fewer opportunities to build home equity, and weakened local services and schools. Even though the practice is illegal now, the economic and social scars persist, shaping access to credit, wealth, and opportunity in those communities today. That’s why the statement about continuing effects on redlined communities is the best answer.

The other ideas don’t fit because the effects didn’t vanish with the laws; the unequal consequences linger. Redlining affected many urban areas, not only rural ones. And there wasn’t a quick, full recovery for the affected neighborhoods—recovery, if it happened at all, has been slow and uneven.