Race and Housing

Why race and housing?

Housing and racial equity are inextricably linked.

Minnesota has some of the widest racial disparities in the nation—in education, health, economics, criminal justice, and especially housing. And all of them can be tied back to discriminatory housing practices used throughout the 20th century. As a community, we need to be as intentional in closing these disparities as we were in creating them.

At Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, racial equity and anti-racism are embedded in our mission, vision, and values and we’re proud that about 80% of our homebuyer clients are households of color.

We also recognize that the scars of racism in banking and social services are deep, and Habitat’s good intentions have not been enough. Throughout 2023, we are working hard to better serve Foundational Black Americans—those who are descendants of enslaved Africans. We aim to transform into an equity organization, build trust with the Black community, and deliver a program that is relevant for more households, especially those who've historically been shut out of homeownership through redlining, racial covenants, and systemic racism.

It’s on all of us to build an equitable community where every family can thrive. Together, we strive toward the day when Black Lives Matter is reflected not only in our protest signs, but in all the systems and values that drive our community.

Our Race & Housing blog series below explores the history of how racist housing policies were created, why our disparities persist, and what we can learn from stories of resistance. And in 2023, you’ll start to read more articles on specific actions you can take to build racial equity in the Twin Cities. We hope you’ll join us.

Race and Housing Blog Series

Why is Habitat part of the solution?

Many Americans get help buying their first home. In fact, nearly one-third of first-time homebuyers get gifts from family or friends to help with their down payment, and White homebuyers are twice as likely as Black homebuyers to get family help for a down payment (source: Shapiro, Thomas M. Toxic Inequality, 2017).

Habitat for Humanity provides that boost for first-time homebuyers. This lays the foundation for better health and education outcomes, higher quality of life, and generations of wealth building.

At Twin Cities Habitat, we know we need to do better, and continually strive for racial equity in all aspects of our work. Here are just a few of the ways our staff and board have and are taking action now:

Take Action

We'll continue to add action steps as we learn more throughout the Race and Housing blog series. Here are a few ways you can take action now:

• Advocate for better housing policies at the local, state, and federal levels. Sign up for Advocacy Action Alerts.
• Learn and share the history of this topic (blogs above and resources below), and follow our Race & Housing blog series.
• Donate to create more Habitat homeownership opportunities.
• Reach out to friends, family, and neighbors and have conversations about this history and the racism that still pervades our society, and help one another take action to build the equitable community we want to see. 

Learn More

Check out these additional resources for a deeper dive into the topics above.

Books

• The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein
• Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
• Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
• Voices of Rondo: Oral Histories of Saint Paul’s Historic Black Community as told by Kate Cavett
• The Days of Rondo by Evelyn Fairbanks
• Diesel Heart: An Autobiography by Melvin Whitfield Carter Jr.
• Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
• How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
• Toxic Inequality: How America's Wealth Gap Destroys Mobility, Deepens the Racial Divide, and Threatens Our Future by Thomas M. Shapiro

Videos

Watch this short video from National Public Radio called "Housing Segregation and Redlining in America: A Short History." In under seven minutes, the video breaks down how discrimination in housing policy had rippled into so many areas of life, especially in cities. Warning: there is one instance of profanity in the first few seconds.

Local Organizations

• The Mapping Prejudice Project
• Dr. Brittany Lewis: Research in Action
• Northside Residents Redevelopment Council
• Inquilinxs Unidxs por Justicia (United Renters for Justice)
• Rondo Ave Inc. founded by Marvin Anderson and Floyd Smaller
• Minnesota Historical Society permanent exhibit on Rondo
• Black Visions Collective
• Reclaim the Block
• We Love Lake Street
• Northside Funders Group and West Broadway Business Coalition
• We Love St. Paul
• Frogtown & Rondo Community Business Recovery Fund