Inglewood is my home. God, even have to say it's whose. Tanika Johnson's home. Not only where I grew up and where I still live, but this is where my grandmother came. Is in a Chicago neighborhood with an ugly history. Historic racist housing practices. But with a program called Unblocked Inglewood. So right here, we could do a gazebo. She and Janel Nelson at Beauty. These are the homes and the individuals that have been impacted by racist housing practices in the mid-century, and we're going to help them repair their homes and beautify their block. It started as a photographic art project, but then the people in the photographs started talking to each other. Now, with nearly $500,000 awarded from the city, these social justice artists have revitalized 22 vacant lots and have helped nearly 75 residents like Melvin Walls. We came in in the early '50s. With critical repairs. They fixed the furnace right here. They did roof. He had a water leak. He had plumbing issues. And so we helped him repair that. Walsh's father had a land contract. From my knowledge, they were taking advantage of it. It's not unique to Chicago. Across the country, from the 1930s to '60s, communities experienced redlining, a practice restricting Black people from getting government-supported financing and effectively barring them from buying homes in certain neighborhoods.

Because of this, many purchase missed land contracts, more or less a gray market for predatory loans, paying monthly premiums, never gaining equity on the home if they missed one payment. The houses that were purchased by Black Chicagoans were often much more expensive than the prices for the same exact house that a White Chicagoan would pay. So there are just many, many ways that Black residents were unfairly treated. Carla Bruni works with the Chicago Bungalow Association. A. N. Has partnered with Johnson to help fund the transformation block by block. Getting these homes up to code costs about $65,000 per home. We've fixed up walls, broken pipes, just years and years of deferred maintenance. It really just becomes incredibly overwhelming at a certain point for residents. There are four institutions that had over 100 contract homes in Deeds & Trust, and those amount to more than $9 million. Researcher Amber Henley quantifies how much Black families have lost over the years. She says the next step, holding lending institutions accountable. But we do have just caused to go after this one institution. But nobody talks about why. Back on the block, restoration is beyond repairs. Unblocked is more than an art project.

It's a statement helping restore some of that dignity and equity. I need so much help. This house right here, my mother passed away, and it's keeping my family together. Adrienne is joining us now. Adrienne, we heard in that story there, the group talking about holding banks accountable. Walk us through next steps as far as what they have planned. Well, Halley, on average, in that neighborhood alone, the homes are about 14 years old. Now that they've completed what they call Phase One, that's the structural work they want to move toward Phase Two, which is the beautification project, bringing in artwork to the neighborhood and perhaps a gazebo. Their hope is that the work that's work that's done here in Chicago will be a blueprint for other cities like Detroit or Saint Paul that have experienced redlining. Thanks for watching. Stay updated about breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app or follow us on social media.