John,
Today marks the 55th anniversary of the passage of the Fair Housing Act, a landmark civil rights law signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on April 11, 1968. Now more than a half-century later, calls for fair and affordable housing could not be more clear. As always, our work is critical in holding local, state and federal government and corporations accountable to Black communities.
On this special anniversary, can we count on you to chip in $25 or more to help power campaigns that fight to keep families in their homes? Every contribution will help Color Of Change build on what we’ve already secured and expand our efforts to hold corporate landlords and local governments accountable to keep families together and under one roof.
This year’s anniversary underscores the importance of actions to advance equity in housing and to protect the rights of all Americans regardless of race, gender, religion or income.
Housing is a fundamental human right and it’s up to all of us to defend it from being treated like a luxury or commodity. That’s why when we launched a rapid-response campaign to secure housing for families in Tampa, Florida, we knew we could count on members like you to deliver. When a private equity firm attempted to unfairly evict families from the Holly Court Apartments, we responded with calls and text messages demanding that six Black families remain in their homes. Will you support this victory, and more wins, for families with a $25 or more donation to protect our right to advocate for Black people and for affordable housing for everyone?
We won in Tampa, and we were right back in the middle of another housing campaign earlier this year. We called on the Parkchester Preservation Management to turn on the heat as temperatures in Bronx, New York, plummeted to below freezing. Because of unfulfilled maintenance requests, the majority of Black and Latino tenants were forced to undertake risky measures of their own to stay warm, such as using open ovens and space heaters to stay warm. Lack of adequate heating in one unit can create life-threatening and devastating consequences for an entire building. We currently are working with Parkchester residents to address the outstanding issues in their community.
Having a safe place to call home offers a sense of security and emotional stability that has no replacement. Some progressive members are calling for the passage of rent control and the repeal of rent control bans in cities across the country. This is some of the work that’s ahead of us.
Until Justice Is Real,
The Color Of Change Digital Team
