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Mrs. J. was an African American schoolteacher looking for a place in a
decent neighborhood where she and her husband could raise their two
children. She spoke on the phone with a friendly landlord who said he
would be happy to show her the apartment he had to offer and they made an
appointment for her to see it. When she arrived, the landlord looked at
her with surprise and told her that the place had just been rented. From
the attitude of the landlord, Mrs. J. was certain that this was
discrimination, but she was sick and tired of dealing with this kind of
ignorance, so she swallowed her anger and found another place.
When Mr. L,
a single Hispanic businessman was transferred to Buffalo, he was told by
the agent assigned to help him find a place to live that he would be
happiest on the West Side of Buffalo where he could be with
“his
people.”
He was not really interested in any of the apartments he was shown, but he
eventually took one because he was under pressure to find a place so he
could start work. He knew that being told where he could live was against
the law, but he let it go, because he didn’t
know where to go for help.
These two
stories are illustrative of one of the major challenges faced by fair
housing agencies today. Housing discrimination continues to plague our
communities, yet the majority of these instances go unreported. What is
not as clear is why—and
what should be done.
According
to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Housing
Discrimination Study (HDS 2000) released in 2002, an African American
family is likely to experience discrimination in one out of every five
rental housing transactions; a Hispanic family one of every four.
Based on
this data, the National Fair Housing Alliance in its Trends Report for
2003 estimates a number of incidents of housing discrimination last year
which exceeds 3,000,000. Of these, only 25,000 were reported. The Trends
Report also reports an overall decline in the number of reports on the
basis of race and color. This is not because housing discrimination
itself is decreasing. A study released this month by George Washington
University called
“The
Continued Significance of Race in Washington’s
Housing Market”
corroborates the conclusion that the majority of victims of housing
discrimination do not report it.
Researchers from the Survey Research Center interviewed Black and White
residents of the greater metropolitan area of Washington D.C to compare
their experiences in searching for housing over the past three years. One
out of every four Blacks interviewed stated that they or someone they knew
had experienced discrimination. However, of the people who reported
experiencing discrimination, over 95% took no further action.
Housing
discrimination most often occurs during a housing search which is a very
stressful time. Often people have a limited amount of time after giving
notice to find a new place to live. Adjusting to a new place is difficult
enough without the added stress of dealing with a discrimination
complaint. Indeed, in the Washington study, one third of the people who
had chosen not to report illegal discrimination said it was because they
didn’t
have the time.
Locally,
anecdotal evidence based on HOME’s
contact with discrimination victims suggest some other reasons so many
instances of housing discrimination go unreported. As in the Washington
study, almost all clients reporting discrimination revealed that they had
previously experienced discrimination without reporting it. Some stated
they did not know what had happened to them was illegal. Others reported
that they did know that what had happened was illegal, but didn’t
know where to go to get help. Still others knew they had been denied
housing illegally, knew where to go, and yet chose not to report it.
The
sociologists from George Washington University suggest that another reason
that people do not report discrimination is because they have either
mistrust or a lack of understanding of the complaint process and the
enforcement agencies. HOME clients have reported that they were afraid
that filing a complaint would cost a lot of money, or expressed a fear
that they needed to have solid proof of discrimination before it could be
reported. As one client said
“I didn’t
want to report it if it was just going to be my word against his.”
Some
clients have chosen not to report discrimination because they fear
retaliation or believe they have to want to live in the place where they
faced the discrimination. Others, unaware of the other legal means of
resolving a discrimination complaint have said they did not want to become
embroiled in a lengthy lawsuit.
The
preceding reasons are legitimate and relatively easy to address through
outreach and education. But they don’t
tell the whole story.
Half of the
people who revealed in the George Washington University Study survey that
they had experienced discrimination but not reported it did not report it
because they felt nothing would come of it. This may indicate a fear of
not prevailing in a lawsuit, but more likely points to something more
difficult to address: the attitude that discrimination is inevitable. As
one client put it,
“Why should
I waste my time? Nothing’s
ever going to change.”
This belief
is far more difficult to address than lack of information, or a
misunderstanding of the law, yet not to do so virtually guarantees that
discrimination will continue unchecked in our community.
Housing
Opportunities Made Equal is a civil rights organization which, since 1963
has been fighting housing discrimination in our community. We give
assistance and support to victims of discrimination and educate both
housing providers and potential victims about their rights and
responsibilities under the law. Our Community Housing Center works to
expand the housing opportunities of people traditionally tied by poverty
to neighborhoods that do not provide the safety, educational and
employment choices as other neighborhoods. But we can’t
fight discrimination alone. If we want to address the attitude that
segregation is “just
the way it is,”
we all need to work together.
Landlords
must learn and comply with the spirit as well as the letter of fair
housing law. Governments must allocate the resources necessary to enforce
fair housing laws in a meaningful way. Community and religious leaders
must take a strong and visible stand against discrimination and take steps
to empower victims to fight back. And the people who have experienced
discrimination must send a message to the perpetrator that they will not
tolerate having their rights violated. HOME will continue to pledge our
knowledge, support, and services.
Discrimination is not inevitable; it is the result of the choices we have
all been making. If we think of housing discrimination as inevitable, we
consign our children and our children’s
children to lifetimes of disadvantage. We will start making different
choices when we stop viewing discrimination as a problem that only affects
certain individuals and begin to see it as a disease that is destroying
our entire community. Only then will we be able to transform ourselves
from the fourth most segregated city in the nation to the City of Good
Neighbors. |
