Core Position
Safe, stable, and affordable housing is a foundational human right. For African Americans, housing has long been the front line of discrimination—through redlining, predatory lending, urban renewal, land theft, exclusionary zoning, and displacement. These policies have systematically blocked Black wealth-building for over a century.
Our housing policies must focus on fairness, affordability, anti-discrimination, and creating genuine pathways to homeownership and stability.
Key Principles & Policy Stances
1. Ending Housing Discrimination
- Fully enforce the Fair Housing Act and increase penalties for discriminatory landlords or lenders.
- Ban algorithmic rental and mortgage discrimination.
- Expand protections against source-of-income discrimination (Section 8, vouchers, etc.).
2. Expanding Affordable Housing
- Increase federal funding for affordable housing construction.
- Support mixed-income developments in high-opportunity neighborhoods.
- Strengthen housing vouchers and reduce waitlist times.
3. Homeownership & Black Wealth Building
- Provide down payment assistance for first-time Black homebuyers.
- Ban predatory lending and strengthen mortgage transparency.
- Create programs to restore wealth lost from historical discriminatory housing policies.
4. Anti-Displacement & Gentrification Protection
- Support strong tenant protections in rapidly developing areas.
- Provide tax relief for long-term residents in gentrifying neighborhoods.
- Ensure community input on redevelopment projects.
5. Zoning Reform for Equity
- Promote zoning that allows multi-family housing in high-resource areas.
- Reverse exclusionary zoning that has historically kept Black families out of certain communities.
- Support transit-oriented development to increase economic access.
6. Rental Stability & Tenant Protections
- Cap excessive rent increases to prevent exploitation.
- Require just-cause eviction protections.
- Fund legal aid for tenants facing eviction or landlord abuse.
7. Homelessness Prevention
- Expand emergency rental assistance and rapid rehousing programs.
- Support housing-first initiatives for chronically homeless individuals.
- Increase mental health and substance abuse support for unhoused populations.
Position Summary
Housing is the foundation of economic stability, community safety, educational opportunity, and generational wealth. Because African Americans have faced the harshest housing discrimination in the nation’s history, meaningful reform must begin with fairness, accountability, and targeted investment.
Our goal is a future where every African American family has access to stable, affordable housing and equitable pathways to ownership and prosperity.