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When it comes to the racial wealth gap, home appraisals are part of the problem

Aug 9, 2021
Sociologist Junia Howell shares her research on how appraisals contribute to inequality between Black and white homeowners.
The key to understanding racial inequality and appraisals is not through individual appraisers’ decisions, says sociologist Junia Howell. It’s “how the system or the way that we appraise houses more generally is structured or arranged."
Tim Boyle/Getty Images

New research shows racial discrimination in hiring is still happening at the earliest stages

Evan Rose, co-author and Saieh Family Research Fellow at the University of Chicago, discusses how discrimination based on job applicant name is still pervasive
Job application forms await applicants for hospitality employment during a Zislis Group job fair at The Brew Hall on June 23, 2021 in Torrance, California.
PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

Biden administration says it will address racial inequity in home appraisals

Jun 2, 2021
The government plans to use fair housing laws and regulatory action to address the racial disparity in home valuations.
President Joe Biden lays out policy proposals aimed at narrowing the racial wealth gap during a speech in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

To narrow racial wealth gap, Biden plan takes aim at home appraisal inequality

Jun 1, 2021
Homes in most white neighborhoods are worth an average of $250,000 more than those in mostly Black and Latinx neighborhoods.
President Joe Biden laid out policy proposals aimed at narrowing the racial wealth gap during a speech in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Above, Biden speaks with Michelle Brown-Burdex of the Greenwood Cultural Center.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

In Chicago, affordable housing development has bypassed wealthier neighborhoods

Apr 19, 2021
Most tax credits from a program encouraging developers to build or renovate affordable units went to majority-Black neighborhoods.
A racial equity study in Chicago found that most affordable housing wasn't going in areas that have amenities like public transportation. Above, people rally for affordable housing in Miami.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Why the nation’s first reparations program for Black residents is tied to homeownership

Apr 7, 2021
The groundbreaking reparations program in Evanston, Illinois, seeks to shrink the racial wealth gap through housing grants.
A Black Lives Matter sign sits in front of a home on March 23 in Evanston, Illinois. The City Council voted to approve a plan, believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, to make reparations available to Black residents due to past discrimination.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Biden administration extends housing protection to LGBTQ Americans

Feb 12, 2021
They'll be protected under the Fair Housing Act.
The new interpretation of the Fair Housing Act includes people renting apartments, at shelters or involved with mortgage and other real estate transactions, said Spencer Watson, who runs the Center for LGBTQ Economic Advancement and Research.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

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Inequality by design: How redlining continues to shape our economy

Apr 16, 2020
A traveling exhibit connects the racist housing policies of the past to the inequities of today.
Nathan Connolly, a professor of history at Johns Hopkins University, stands in front of the Undesign the Redline exhibit at Impact Hub Baltimore.
Amy Scott/Marketplace

Trump administration proposes new housing discrimination standard

Aug 19, 2019
The proposed rule would require plaintiffs to show that a policy is not only discriminatory but also arbitrary.
A house for sale in San Rafael, California.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Seattle tests new law aimed at preventing discrimination by landlords

May 11, 2017
The first qualified applicant must be approved under the ordinance. Landlords are suing.
Beth Bylund outside one of the houses she rents in north Seattle.
Eilis O'Neill