Housing Crisis a Threat to Democracy

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Maxine Waters, of the 43rd District in California, is making the case that fair housing is directly related to us saving our democracy.

In an essay included in the Urban League’s “State of Black America,” Rep, Waters states that the housing crisis is not a new issue. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil rights leaders made fair housing a tenet to reaching full racial equality, and now, over fifty years later, the fight continues.

With 29% of the United States population, Black, Indigenous, and Latinx people are the majority of those who face homelessness at a whopping 67%. According to data, Black and Latinx people are two times more likely to face evictions, with both groups struggling to afford rent. Studies have also shown that the Black and white gap in regard to homeownership has only widened, now being at an all-time high.

Housing has not only become more expensive, but it is also a testament to how unjust housing practices have also led to more segregated neighborhoods that can also impede the right to vote. In neighborhoods of color, voters are forced to wait long hours to cast their ballots, with state officials slashing voting locations and cutting down early voting times. Also impeding voting is state ID laws, with laws requiring a state ID to vote, which is near impossible for those who are experiencing homelessness, who have no permanent address.

The Build Back Better Act, Rep. Waters argues, would not only help end the homelessness, but also assist in closing the racial wealth gap that is seemingly only widening. With a $150 billion investment into affordable housing, this piece of legislation would enable families to finally own their homes, and lower rents for over 700,000 people.

We must pass the Build Back Better Act, she states, in order to realize the prosperous democracy we deserve.

To read Rep. Waters’ article on Fair Housing, please see the article here.