CNN News, August 7, 2019: Rashida Tlaib: How to reverse the decline in black homeownership
This summer marks the 55th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act, which paved the way for the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 and the expansion of civil rights in this country.
These three landmark pieces of legislation pushed back against discrimination and segregation and the impact of each cannot be overstated: Schools and universities across America were forced to take meaningful steps to desegregate; African Americans, especially in Southern states, were granted unprecedented access to the ballot box; and racial discrimination in the sale and rental of housing was banned, a first step in desegregating entire neighborhoods.
While that progress should be celebrated, it is now more important than ever to acknowledge how far we’ve strayed from their intended purposes. When black homeownership is plunging across the country — with the worst losses of all here in Michigan — something is broken.
