The Housing Rights Center (HRC) commends President Biden’s recent order on furthering fair housing and addressing the racial injustices historically sponsored by the federal government. The White House’s memo committed to counteracting the previous actions taken to exclude people of color from safe, accessible, and affordable housing opportunities and to segregate neighborhoods across the United States. It acknowledges that by driving policies such as redlining, strategic disinvestment, and inequitable development, the federal government and the housing industry helped to create dramatic racial disparities in homeownership, generational wealth, and physical and mental health that still persist today in Black, Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and Native American communities across the United States. Read the full memo here.

“The administration’s commitment to working closely with communities on the ground will enable HRC and our fair housing partners to better protect the rights of people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, the LGBTQ+ community, and other protected groups,” said Chancela Al- Mansour, Executive Director of the Housing Rights Center. “We are looking forward to working with government and the housing industry to right these historic wrongs as we strive toward integrated and inclusive communities.”

An especially important part of the new administration’s fair housing framework is the potential reinstatement of the 2015 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule, which holds federal agencies and grantees accountable for actively working against discrimination in housing and urban development. Similarly, the anticipated readoption of the disparate impact standard, which addresses policies that appear neutral but have a discriminatory effect, will greatly strengthen HRC’s ability to uncover bias and promote inclusive communities.

Fair housing is essential to our society, especially as housing insecurity has risen to urgent levels nationwide. HRC looks forward to continued leadership from the White House and HUD Secretary appointee Marcia Fudge on housing access, combating discrimination, and ending segregation.

For more information on the Housing Rights Center and its free services, please visit www.housingrightscenter.org or call 1-800-477-5977 (TTY: 213-201-0867). Follow HRC on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to stay updated on housing news.