Bernice King reflects on the Fair Housing Act, made law after her father’s killing

By THALIA BEATY Bernice King warns decades of work to reduce inequities in housing is at exposure as the Trump administration cuts funding for projects and tries to reduce funding for nonprofits that handle housing discrimination complaints I shudder to think what s going to happen there s still a lot of residential segregation King CEO of The King Center and the youngest daughter of civil rights leaders The Rev Martin Luther King Jr and Coretta Scott King notified The Associated Press It s better than it was during my father s lifetime But going forward we may end up right back where we were in the s and in the s People will feel very emboldened to discriminate because they know there s nothing there to to stop it In February the U S Department of Housing and Urban Progress canceled millions of dollars in grants to nonprofits that handle housing discrimination complaints A judge temporarily froze the terminations which HUD declared targeted funding awards that included diversity equity and inclusion or DEI language The department will uphold the Fair Housing Act and combat discrimination in housing a HUD official revealed adding that no staffing changes specific to the department have been broadcasted King declared the attacks on what the administration calls DEI look familiar To me these are those same old historic divide-and-conquer tactics to try to keep people fighting with each other and keep people separated and keep a certain hierarchy existing in a society she explained FILE Dr Martin Luther King Jr and his wife Coretta Scott King wave to crowd in street from center window of a third-floor walk-up apartment he rented on Chicago s West Side Jan AP Photo Edward Kitch File Continuing to press to end discrimination in housing Whenever she can King stated she highlights her father s legacy pressing for economic equality including speaking Thursday at the Northwest African American Museum in Seattle near where Habitat for Humanity of Seattle-King Kittitas Counties is building a new condominium named after him The -unit apartment block is located on Martin Luther King Jr Way in King County which is also named for him Construction on the site has started and units will eventually be sold to buyers at affordable prices Seattle Habitat CEO Brett D Antonio commented naming the building after King offered a chance to talk about racial equity in housing part of Habitat for Humanity s efforts to raise awareness about fair housing including its fundraising campaign Home is the Key in April in remembrance of the Fair Housing Act s passage There was just no better opportunity to name the building in honor of Dr King as we look to the work ahead of us in tackling affordable housing requirements across the country but also here in Seattle he stated Bernice King remembers when her father moved their family in to a third-floor walk-up without heat in Chicago Martin Luther King Jr came to Chicago to try to break through discrimination in housing which left Black residents paying more in rent for worse conditions than white tenants Martin Luther King Jr campaigned in Chicago speaking to crowds of tens of thousands around the area and leading a march to City Hall to tape their demands on the front door A week after he was assassinated in the Fair Housing Act was signed into law which prohibited discrimination in housing based on race and other characteristics and created mechanisms to resolve complaints She declared the dream of fair and equitable housing that the law s passage signaled has still not be realized To allow its provisions to be weakened is to betray the commitment and the sacrifices made to realize it she announced speaking in Seattle FILE Hands of civil rights leaders Al Raby left and Dr Martin Luther King post a scroll on door of Chicago s City Hall July AP Photo Larry Stoddard File Housing inequity continues the present day Large discrepancies in homeownership between Black Hispanic and white Americans persist in the present day though that is just one measure of inequity in housing access The National Fair Housing Alliance revealed housing discrimination complaints reached a record in with the majority involving rentals and over half having to do with discrimination based on disability Related Articles St Paul City Council gets an earful on rent control tenant protections St Paul City Council to hear rent control tenant protections More homes for sale and easing rates favor homebuyers this spring but affordability hurdles remain After Trump cuts fate of potential assistance effort in question in Minnesota St Paul nonprofit pays M to turn Bandana Square hotel into crisis shelter Diane Levy who researches housing at the Urban Institute commented she was concerned about who will take future fair housing complaints if funding to nonprofits that handle those complaints is significantly diminished If you experience discrimination if it s blatant that takes a toll she declared adding even unseen discrimination limits where you can live and whether to rent or buy home which in turn limits where you can work or go to school Levy also noted the administration ended federal protections against housing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity Bernice King reported this moment calls for creativity and perseverance People feel like it s okay to discriminate okay to suppress oppress and deny she declared It just means those of us who are on the side of standing up for what is right and fighting for freedom justice and equality having even more work to do Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives endorsement through the AP s collaboration with The Conversation US with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc The AP is solely responsible for this content For all of AP s philanthropy coverage visit https apnews com hub philanthropy