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The housing industry’s disparate impact hopes
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hen Trump’s administration was inaugurated in January 2017, many people knew automatically that he was so determined to “punish” his “enemies” and I chose to put these two words in quotes because they are strong words, especially given the context. Plus I feel they fit in because we all know the history between the two former presidents. Anyway, One of the areas that saw radical changes was the housing industry. Just a few months into office, Trump was already rescinding the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule which is a rule meant to prevent discriminatory housing practices and segregation. In short, he reversed a rule meant to combat discrimination in a sector that is heavily reliant on fairness and equality. 122 l
The Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule was established by President Obama in 2015. Basically, the AFFH requires communities that recieve grants and housing aid to assess racial segregation in the housing industry and offer plans to correct such actions.
When reversing this rule, HUD termed it as “unworkable and ultimately a waste of time for localities to comply with.” A move which didn’t quite sit well with many people, in fact, senator Chuck Schumer tweeted; “President Trump is actively working to gut fair housing laws and legalize housing discrimination,” adding, “We will fight this.” But… Even though the administration was on record to rescind the move, some states and local jurisdiction continued to require the local agencies to ensure that they complied with the requirements of the AFFH and a good example was California.
“Let’s be clear: the President is using racist fear-mongering to say he’s happy to dismantle civil rights in search of a political advantage,” Democratic U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote on Twitter. THE POWER IS NOW MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2021
