The More things change the more they stay the same
Last year, I wrote an article on discrimination and segregation in housing. Below is an excerpt:
There is still a lack of affordable, safe and quality housing throughout the United States for black and brown people. There are sections of the country where de facto segregation still exists; where the citizens vote to put the hazardous waste, harmful drinking water, and heavy-handed law enforcement into disenfranchised neighborhoods while building high-end housing developments with green lawns and Officer Friendly. Black, brown and working-class people continue to be discriminated against because of their status, redlined and priced out of certain communities. Public housing is shrinking, and shelters are increasing. Recent research indicates that housing discrimination is alive and well for LGBTQ/SGL elders trying to rent in many of our cities. LGBTQ/SGL elders can face subtle and overt discrimination by staff and residents in many retirement and nursing homes (https://www.diverseelders.org/2017/02/02/housing-for-vulnerable-populations-charge-and-change/).
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Reminds me of that old song by Big Bill Broonzy, “If you white you’s alright, if you was brown stick around, but if you’s Black, oh brother get back, get back, get back. |
NPR reported recently on the history of legal housing discrimination against Black people in this county. It includes old maps laid on current maps, city by city, state by state laid to show the legal segregation and may be able to show why that neighborhood never has had any white people and why only Black people were living in that neighborhood. It is an interactive piece and may shed some insight on why there is a lack of housing wealth and affordable housing for many Black people. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/10/19/498536077/interactive-redlining-map-zooms-in-on-americas-history-of-discrimination
We at Mary’s House for Older adults receive regular requests for safe and affordable housing from Florida to Massachusetts, from California to Washington, DC. We continue to be an information and referral source as part of a national movement to create safe, quality housing environments for LGBTQ/SGL elders and to make affordable housing a priority. To get lend a hand and to get involved, please contact us at www.maryshousedc.org.
