The Supreme Court will hear Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. on January 21, 2015. This case puts landmark civil rights law in jeopardy, as the case considers whether to overturn foundational fair housing protections. LDF President and Director-Counsel Sherrilyn Ifill has written an op-ed on the issue, which is featured in McClatchy DC today.
Ifill highlights the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, who in 1966 led a march through Chicago, protesting the housing segregation and unfair living conditions that plagued the city and the nation. After Dr. King’s assassination two years later, Congress honored his life by passing the Fair Housing Act. The Act has served for 40 years as a crucial tool in ending private and public discrimination, combating policies that discriminate against families, the poor, African Americans, Latinos, other communities of color, and people with disabilities.
However, work remains to be done. The legacy of these discriminatory policies should not be overlooked, and Ifill points to Ferguson, MO as a prime example. The underlying dynamics of the racial bias in policing have their basis in discriminatory housing policies, which excluded African Americans from newly developed communities. We can only hope that the Supreme Court allows the work and legacy of Martin Luther King to continue by upholding this act in full.
Read the full op-ed here.