 Dear Friend,From the broken ‘forty acres and a mule’ promise to the tragedies of the subprime crisis, Black Americans have found themselves both the unintended and fully intended victims of over one hundred years of racially motivated ordinances, practices and policies.
As a nation we have much to mourn as we have systematically prevented, and inhibited communities of color from fully participating in the American Dream. During this Black History Month, I invite you to re-exam for yourself how discriminatory lending, nefarious use of eminent domain, and the displacement of communities of color, have prevented the wealth building opportunities routinely afforded the white middle and upper classes. As of the first quarter of 2021, the homeownership rate of non-Hispanic white households was 73.8%, but only 45.1% for Black households. Although written over thirty years ago, Bill Dedman’s Pulitzer Prize winning “The Color of Money” is an important primer on these practices that lead to how we got here nationally.
Reminders of the systemic approaches to discrimination are close to home too, and is important to acknowledge and address our local communities’ history on the Central Coast. Here is what part of the conversation and reactions to past wrongs have looked like in the San Luis Obispo area. I would encourage you to see and investigate this further for yourself: www.racemattersslo.org/restrictions-apply
Our current housing crisis is only widening the gap as the prospects that come along with homeownership are being afforded less and less to people of color. Despite the housing disparities and inequities all around us, and the affordability crisis having been long identified and widely declared, the processing and support for housing projects that can benefit those marginalized and most disadvantaged among us, continues to be slowed by long and expensive processing, are opposed primarily by those who are not in need of housing, and as a result are increasingly cost burdened to feasibly produce.
Recent world events around the pandemic have shown that we have the ability to effectively collaborate and act altogether to meet our most pressing ills, which threaten us all, but particularly those most vulnerable. Let’s infuse the lessons recently learned from the health and pandemic into the housing space – after all housing is a health as well as a human rights issue that ultimately affects our entire community’s future and well-being.
Ken Trigueiro, CEO & President |
Community Connections
Join the Team!
