This week on "Ben Carson is unqualified for his job" and should "find something new," HUD is aiming to remove an Obama-era program to enforce and further the fair housing laws passed in 1968.
As we've discussed before, many policies that violate fair housing are still being practiced. In 2015, Obama's administration began requiring communities to show how they are addressing the problem head-on. But now HUD is trying to remove all oversight.
As always, the discussion is complex, due in part to liberals who support desegregation -- as long as it isn't in their own backyards. Thankfully the data shows that desegregation helps much more than it hurts. And others in the government are already taking steps to avoid this rollback from occurring.
xo
Anna
What’s The Deal?
Fair Housing, as it is known today, passed as part of the 1968 Civil Rights Act, but its enforcement -- sometimes described as "affirmatively furthering fair housing" -- has been uneven at best. And, as we have seen in the wake of George Floyd's murder and the resulting outcry, America has remained pretty racist and segregated over these past fifty years.
The Obama administration in 2015 passed a law requiring local governments to show how they are actively furthering housing equality and ensuring all community members are following fair housing laws. Because, as we know, banks, developers, and real estate agents need oversight.
Now, captain babyhands wants to eliminate this as part of an appeal to his vision of the suburbs -- a vision increasingly inaccurate as suburbs become less and less white. He and Mike Pence seem to think Mad Men is a documentary from 2016.
HUD says that it is simply giving communities more time to show they are complying with fair housing laws. But lil T's tweet says otherwise: his racist statement shows the real reason is to "reassure" white voters afraid of non-white people moving into their communities. Statements like this are exactly why fair housing laws are needed in the first place.
But I want to make it clear that this isn't just a GOP problem; some of the "wokest" liberals also freak out at any mention of low-income housing coming to their communities. A new "project" or shelter brings higher density and lower median income, which causes some to worry. There's a fascinating Bloomberg article from 2015 that dives into this further (linked at the bottom).
The good news? These fears are actually pretty unfounded. A study released in 2016 showed that adding low-income housing to poor neighborhoods lowers crime and boosts property values. The situations where it has led to problems were when it was built in areas already struggling with high crime rates, underfunded schools, and no job opportunities, isolating people and exacerbating existing issues.
AOC has already attached to a Senate bill two provisions that would defund HUD's new plan. If these pass they would effectively end the HUD initiative, since no federal funds could be used for this ridiculous rollback.
And even NAR, the National Association of Realtors, is pushing back against HUD. After a reckoning within the real estate community about how many agents violate fair housing policies, the industry seems to be putting its money where its mouth is and fighting for stronger fair housing protections throughout the US.
Why Does This Matter?
It's mind-blowing that the government would seek to revoke this program now, right when many people have finally woken up to the ongoing inequality and inequity caused, in part, but unequal access to land ownership between white and non-white communities.
But it makes sense -- blockbusting was effective for a reason. Tell someone comfortable that they will be made uncomfortable and you may be able to convince them to stick with the status quo.
Thankfully, it feels like the tide has turned and this is a poorly-timed attempt at sowing division and distrust. It has been an effective tool in the past for winning the white vote, but as empathy begins to outweigh fear and the facts show that integrated communities are actually a positive, it's lost its edge.
Further Reading/Watching
To read more about the Obama administration's 2015 rule and HUD's recent dismantling, as well as the changing demographics of the suburbs, please check out the links below.
Bloomberg - How Fair Housing Will Turn Liberal Cities Conservative (article)
Chicago Reporter - Immigrants and some people of color are moving to the suburbs – but life there isn’t as promising as it once was (article)
Pro Publica - Separated by Design (article)
Bloomberg - What Does Trump Think the ‘Suburban Lifestyle Dream’ Means? (article)