to glory. The story of Cynthia “Cynt” Marshall, CEO Dallas Mavericks The National Fairhousing Month should

THE NATIONAL FAIR HOUSING MONTH SHOULD BE ABOUT FAIRNESS AND JUSTICE IN HOUSING

The National Fair Housing Month intends to celebrate the passage of the Fair Housing Act in April 1968. The Fair Housing Act is a law that prohibits discrimination in the real estate industry, sales, rental and financing of housing based on colour, race, national origin, religion and gender. The

Act was further amended to include protections for people with disabilities and families with children. In California, there were additional protections for marital status, sexual orientation, ancestry, the primary sources of income and for arbitrary characteristics such as age or occupation.

Since 1968, April has been regarded as the opportune time to remember what the FHA brought to the table, and it is also an excellent time to reflect on the rights it gives the citizens. But why April? Apart from being the month, FHA was passed, does it have any other characteristics making it a special month for the National Fair Housing Month? Well, the primary reason why April is known as the National Fair Housing month is because FHA was passed during the month as Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, a landmark piece of legislation. However, Dr Martin Luther King has also some strong ties to the month. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the FHA into Law one week after the assassination of Dr Luther, who fought hard for equity in housing.

People in the housing industry, activists, politicians, realtors, buyers and sellers come together during this month to commemorate the anniversary of the passage of the Fair Housing Act and to recommit to the goal which united together and inspired us after the aftermath of Rev. Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination in 1968: To create equal opportunity in every community and eliminate discrimination. This means that each one of us, regardless of race, colour, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, and disability, has access to neighbourhoods of opportunity, where our children can attend quality schools, our environment allows us to be

Do we understand the importance of National Fair Housing Month?

By all means, since the 60s, African Americans and other minority groups have been losing the fight. Now more than ever, the wealth gap has been widening, and the situation is dire for the African Americans. This brings to light the question; do we understand what the fair housing month is all about? Or even the concept of fair housing?

Sadly, despite the efforts our leaders have made now and, in the past, housing discrimination still exists, subtly. Fair housing is the right to choose one’s residence in a manner that is free from unlawful discriminatory practices. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP), housing instability is;

• The inability, or having trouble paying your monthly rent.

• Overcrowding living conditions.

• Frequently changing residence.

• Residing with relatives.

• Spending a lot of cash of one’s income on housing expenses.

HUD, on the other hand, defines housing insecurity as several dimensions our housing problems people face including;

• Affordability.

Safety.

• Quality.

Insecurity. we are far much behind in achieving the real goal of the FHA law. Minority groups in the states experience higher homelessness rates than the non-Hispanic whites, and therefore, they make a disproportionate share of the homeless population. In this context, I would like to put it clear that the term “minority” refers to African Americans, American Indians/ Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. The Hispanics in the country make up about the same share of homeless

people as the general population and Asians are underrepresented in homelessness.

Resource: Racial Inequalities in Homelessness, by the Numbers

Housing Is Important Step to Wealth Creation

Housing is a significant milestone when it comes to the journey in wealth creation. With this in mind, American lawmakers have long sought for means to secure land for, reduce the barriers to, and expand the wealth-building capacity of property ownership and affordable rental housing. However, by every means, these efforts big and small seem to favour the whitesonly, and far too often, it is the same efforts that have displaced the people of colour from their homes, denied them access to wealth-building opportunities, and relocated them to isolated communities. Across the country, historic and ongoing displacement, social exclusions and segregation continue to bar people of colour from obtaining and retaining their own homes and access safe and affordable housing.

For years, starting as early as the days of the first black man on the white land, structural racism especially in the united states housing system has contributed to the stark and persistent racial disparities in wealth and financial well-being. These differences are so

entrenched that if the current trends continue, it could take about 200 years for the average African American to accumulate the same amount of wealth as the whites. While it is arguably understandable that housing as an entity is not a panacea for eliminating the deep-rooted racial inequality, lawmakers must and should make amends for the past and probably the future harms by enacting new policies and laws designed to expand access to prosperity for all Americans. The best place to start should be housing.

Resource: Systemic Inequality: Displacement, Exclusion, and Segregation

This Is A Time for Justice

Even as we celebrate the fair housing month let us remember that it should be a month of justice, or at least, let us make it a month where we seek justice for all minority groups, not just the African American. Remember 1845, the term “Manifest Destiny” was commonly used and was used to describe the widely held belief that the white settlements and expansions across North America were inevitable and divinely ordained. What most people don’t understand is that even long before that, the same ideology was used to justify the ethnic cleansing and systematic displacement. To this date, it has been used to influence policymaking in the United States.

In addition, pay attention to the Dawes Act which forcibly converted communally held tribal lands into small, individually owned lots and the Indian Removal Act which authorized the federal government to forcibly relocate native Americans in the southeast to make room for the white settlement. You see, there has been a pattern of social injustices which percolate to today’s society. So, to me, this month is about serving every person with the justice they deserve. It is not about the African Americans, or the Native Americans or the evils of the white man, it is about making American great, and the only way to do that is making sure that everyone is included in the circle.

Good news from our good guys at HUD

Last month HUD awarded $40 million to the Fair Housing organizations all across the nation working to confront the issue of the violations of the nation’s FHA and to help end the widening gap of housing discrimination.

Resource: Complete Summary of the Grants Being Awarded by FHA

These grants were awarded through the Department’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) and the Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) in a bid to help people who believe they have been victimized in one way or another in housing. The grants are also aimed at educating the public and the housing providers on the nation’s fair housing laws.

“HUD is committed to supporting efforts to rid discrimination from our society,” said HUD Secretary Ben Carson. “The grants we are awarding today will enable our fair housing partner organizations to combat unlawful policies and behaviour and foster practices that ensure everyone has access to safe, affordable housing, free from discrimination.”

More than $1 million of the funding is being awarded to the grantees located in the Opportunity Zones. These were zones created under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to stimulate long-term investment in low-income communities. The FHIP grants will go to support a wide range of fair housing enforcement, and education and outreach activities. These grants will allow the groups to provide fair housing enforcement through testing in the rental and sales markets, file fair housing complaints with HUD, and conduct investigations. Resource: HUD AWARDS $40 MILLION TO FIGHT HOUSING DISCRIMINATION

I am happy with these steps that various institutions are taking to safeguard the minority’s housing future. No matter how small, this just that the government is ready to make amends for the years of neglect and social injustices. Let us all take a moment during this month and reflect where we are coming from as a community and where we are headed. As far as African Americans are concerned, I recommend the plan from NAREB encouraging African Americans to first focus on a home before anything else. Opportunities are there, but we are reluctant in taking them. According to a statement from the NAREB president Donnell in January this year, there has been an uptick of the Black homeownership rate, which is what we want to maintain. So, let us go out during this month, knowing that this is a month of fairness and justice.

What are you doing in your community to make this month a memorable one? Let us know.

Resource: Statement by President Donnell Williams on Upward Trend of Black Homeownership Rate

Sources & Works Cited http://www.fairhousingnorcal.org/april-fair-housing-month. html https://www.hud.gov/press/press_releases_media_ advisories/HUD_No_20_045 https://www.dca.ga.gov/node/4960 https://www.richmondnhs.org/april-is-fair-housing-month/ https://depts.washington.edu/uwmedptn/national-fairhousing-month-april-2019/ https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/ reports/2019/08/07/472617/systemic-inequalitydisplacement-exclusion-segregation/