3/3/2021 in News & Media, NFHA News, Press Releases

New Ad Highlights Tie Between Fair Housing and Racial Justice

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 3, 2021

Contact: Izzy Woodruff | 202-898-1661 | IWoodruff@nationalfairhousing.org 

New Ad Highlights Tie Between Fair Housing and Racial Justice

“The fight for fair housing is the fight for racial justice”

Washington, D.C. — Today, the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) sponsored an advertisement in The Washington Post, highlighting the link between fair housing and racial justice. 

The full text of the ad is below:

Racial injustice hits people where they live.

And where they are not allowed to live.

Due to structural racism and discrimination in our housing markets, residential segregation has gotten worse. Black Americans are more likely to live in neighborhoods in which they are over-policed and lack access to healthcare, clean environments, well-resourced schools, healthy food options, living wage jobs, quality credit, and opportunities to build wealth. Research shows that all residents, regardless of race or national origin, benefit from diverse, inclusive communities, and that eliminating racial inequality would add trillions of dollars to our economy. These are among the many reasons we fight to build a more equitable society.

To learn what you can do to help, go to nationalfairhousing.org.

The fight for fair housing is the fight for racial justice.

“Housing matters because it is inextricably linked to opportunity,” said Lisa Rice, President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance. “Unfortunately, more than fifty years after passage of the Fair Housing Act, too many people still face challenges to the fundamentals of the American dream. Housing segregation remains the primary driver of inequality in the U.S., and until we address that, Black and Brown families will continue to lack access to equitable resources and opportunities to secure safe, affordable housing, thus preventing them from obtaining other critical opportunities well.”

“The ad, which ran in today’s Washington Post, is part of an effort to keep fair housing at the top of the Biden Administration’s agenda. HUD and other federal agencies must fully enforce the nation’s civil rights laws and rebuild public confidence in the government’s ability to protect and defend fair housing and fair lending rights. 

“The ad also serves to highlight two important initiatives created by the National Fair Housing Alliance to advance racial equity. The Keys Unlock Dreams Initiative is designed to significantly reduce the racial wealth and homeownership gaps and ensure communities of color can bounce back stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tech Equity Initiative is designed to eliminate bias from the technologies used in housing and financial services.”

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Founded in 1988, the National Fair Housing Alliance is a consortium of more than 200 private, nonprofit fair housing organizations and state and local civil rights agencies from throughout the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., NFHA works to eliminate housing discrimination and ensure equal housing opportunity for all people through leadership, education, outreach, membership services, public policy initiatives, community development, advocacy, and enforcement.