The lower elevations, especially the Charles st valley is the historically black part of the neighborhood and is in the worst shape. Perry hilltop wasn’t a redlined neighborhood. it did badly in the 80s which is a little surprising given it’s vantage point overlooking the city and it has decent bus routes but I guess most old city neighborhoods did badly in the 80s. Not too many American legion buildings were built in poor black neighborhoods and it sits empty now that old white people that frequented it have died off. Good for her for finding a fitting use for an unused building.

Here are some maps that show the top of the hill is still a mixed race neighborhood.

http://thetartan.org/2020/2/3/scitech/housing

Source from Wikipedia:

Perry South experienced white flight after 1960; from 1960 to 1970, the neighborhood's total population declined from 16,000 people to 13,000, while its African-American population, which had formerly been located almost exclusively in the Charles Street Valley, increased from 15% to 20%.[5] From 1970 to 2000, the total population decreased to just 5,200 people, of whom 65% were African-American.[6]