The Sum of All Fears: An Analysis of Institutional Discrimination in the Housing Market and its Effects on The District of Columbia

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The Sum of All Fears: An Analysis of Institutional Discrimination in the Housing Market and its Effects on The District of Columbia

Owning a home in the neighborhood of one’s choice is central to the American dream. Nearly all people would agree that the right to pursue the American dream should not be restricted for anyone, regardless of race, creed or national origin. But for millions of American citizens, and a majority of the District of Columbia’s residents, major barriers restrict freedom of choice in housing. Even after the passage of two Fair Housing Acts, blacks in America, and specifically in the District, face systematic discrimination that serves to perpetuate segregation and white oppression.

After being informed about the topic of this essay, my friend Robert Botta, a Mount Vernon Campus resident asked, “Why can I walk around this neighborhood all day and not see a black person in a city that is greater than 60 percent black?” (Botta). This question has an extremely important answer, and it lies in the practices used by racist institutions to perpetuate segregation. In our day, the most effective practices are also the most discrete. Steering is the process by which real estate agents show blacks only the homes in “their” neighborhoods. It is also the first institutional barrier faced by blacks in a struggle for freedom of choice in housing. Obviously steering perpetuates segregation, leading whites and blacks only to neighborhoods where their races are already predominant.

In April 1997 the Fair Housing Council of Greater Washington, with funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, released a report citing discrimination encountered by African Americans and Latinos when they tried to buy a home in the Washington area. A Washington Post article by Caroline Mayer details the results of the study and conveys the prevalence of steering in the Washington area:

White testers tended to receive more prompt attention and were shown more properties within their price range and in predominantly white areas, the report said. Minority testers, on the other hand, were taken to fewer properties and were shown houses in predominantly black or Latino areas. Blacks were often told that they must qualify for a mortgage before being shown any lists; the same requirement was not made of any white tester. (2)

Unfortunately, the real estate industry is not the only institutional barrier that blacks must overcome.

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