Today America celebrates the
life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
King led a resistance movement
that was non-violent but his efforts led to his assassination on April 4th,
1968 at the ripe young age of 39.
“I have a
dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they
will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their
character.”
What many
people may not realize is the King's most difficult struggle had to do with
housing - we've all heard the mantra "location, location location"
for years, but these words have an even deeper meaning than most recognize,
especially when we realize how those words were exerted to separate, devalue
and exclude people of color from access to neighborhoods and housing.
Unbelievably, there are still racially restrictive covenants to be found in the
home deeds and neighborhood covenants of all but eight states. These covenants
are unenforceable, but the fact that they are still there is an assault on all
our progress for racial equality.
“… no part of said property nor any portion
thereof shall be for said term of fifty years occupied by any person not of the
Caucasian race, it being intended thereby to
restrict the use of said property for said period of time against the occupancy
of owners or tenants of any portion of said property for residence or other
purpose by people of the Negro or Mongolian
race.”
The Greater Ville, St. Louis
House built: 1906
Restriction placed: 1911
The endeavor
to put fair housing laws into place was a struggle, as civil rights legislation
that included anti discrimination provisions in housing had continually failed
to be passed.
That was
until April 11th, 1968 - one week after King was assassinated. The Civil Rights
Act of 1968, which included the Fair Housing Act, finally passed after years of
delays and revisions. Within hours of Kings death, President Lyndon B. Johnson
and other civil rights leaders made the decision to concentrate their endeavors
on the controversial bill, which included more comprehensive federal fair
housing protections, granting basic opportunity and housing access to people of
color.
"Location,
Location, Location" has long held a significance of prime property
neighborhoods, while at the same time denying people of color equal access to
that which their white counterparts could easily acquire. Sadly, there are
still cases today where these denials are still be played out.
But thanks to
Martin Luther King, Jr., we've come a long way, baby.
Although the
housing system is still not perfect, with some Realtor's still attempting to
"steer" clients in and out of certain area's based on the color or
nationality, the progress that has been made would certainly be something MLK
would be proud of. Thanks to the daring and tenacious work he and others put
in, fair housing violators are continually being held accountable by the
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
MLK taught us
that there is no place in this country for housing discrimination. Everyone has
the right to home ownership, and the right to reside in whatever neighborhood
they choose, based upon equal qualifications. It is a work in progress, but we
are making much headway!