Bishop Paul Binion has lived in southwest Fresno for nearly five decades, long enough to see development flourish across the city while his own neighborhood was left behind with a legacy of redlining and racial segregation.
When he first arrived to the city in the 1970s, most Black families lived in the southwest because they weren’t allowed to live elsewhere. Realtors were instructed not to sell homes to Black or Mexican families in other neighborhoods and risked losing their businesses if they did.
Fresno residents in the 93706 zip code alone have a life expectancy about 20 years shorter than north Fresno, according to a 2014 Fresno County Public Health study…