Posted on June 5, 2020
These are times when words fail us. It’s obvious that empathizing with the deep pain felt by black and brown Americans who have endured generations of discrimination is never enough.
The murder of George Floyd last week by Minneapolis police officers may be a tipping point. It has brought hundreds of thousands of Americans to the streets and has forced us all to look in the mirror and ask how can we make this stop? How can we work harder to create places where black and brown Americans are respected and can thrive?
For everyone at MHP, this is a wake-up call. People marching in the streets crying out for justice is a reminder that unsafe, inaccessible, unaffordable, segregated housing remains a cornerstone of systemic racism.
For everyone at MHP, this is a wake-up call. People marching in the streets crying out for justice is a reminder that unsafe, unhealthy, inaccessible, unaffordable, segregated housing remains a cornerstone of systemic racism. COVID-19 may have driven us apart but the events of the last two weeks has caused us to come together and ask each other, “Are we doing enough?”
Since 1985, addressing racial and economic inequities has been at the core of MHP’s mission. Our ONE Mortgage program was designed to eliminate racial bias in mortgage lending and has enabled more than 10,000 low-income households of color to become homeowners.
We must do more.
Our financing and technical assistance has resulted in thousands of affordable housing units being built in suburban communities and given more choices to households of color about where to live, work and raise children.
We must do more.
Our analysis and our public testimony has called out communities with restrictive zoning that excludes new residents by race and income.
We must speak louder.
We don’t have all the answers yet. We do know we’re angry and sad to see that more than a half century after the civil rights movement, black Americans and other people of color are still fighting for equal rights.
We do know that it will take a broad coalition of everyday Americans standing up for justice and what is right, accompanied by policymakers and elected officials taking these issues seriously and taking bold and comprehensive action.
If we're going to undo centuries worth of inequitable and unjust policies, we cannot do it one small step at a time. We need action and we need it now. We at MHP know we can’t let George Floyd and many other people of color die in vain.