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Stop evictions.
Landlords have filed for almost half a million evictions during the pandemic (Eviction Lab), and 15 million households are late on rent, owing a collective $20 billion to landlords, are potentially at risk of being put out on the streets. These tenants are disproportionately BIPOC (Colorlines) and LGBTQ+ (Injustice Watch).
TAKE ACTION
Support ACT UP Philadelphia, or, a local organization fighting the eviction of renters and homeless encampments.
Follow and support TANC or a local organization organizing tenants.
Find a tenants union or other local organization to volunteer for eviction defense.
GET EDUCATED
By Andrew Lee (he/him)
Just over a week ago, the Department of Justice defended a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moratorium on evictions (MSN), extending eviction bans instituted by both the CARES Act and the CDC last year (Congressional Research Service). Despite DoJ support, this latest moratorium is contested by a lawsuit from a group of landlords. Even if the courts rule in its favor, it’s more limited than its predecessors, only protecting tenants in areas with “substantial” levels of COVID transmission (CDC). Landlords have filed for almost half a million evictions during the pandemic (Eviction Lab), and 15 million households are late on rent, owing a collective $20 billion to landlords, are potentially at risk of being put out on the streets. These tenants are disproportionately BIPOC (Colorlines) and LGBTQ+ (Injustice Watch).
Given this problem’s immense scope, it’s tempting to adopt a wait-and-see approach. But as millions face houselessness, we need to come together — not only because the courts might rule against the moratorium but also because landlords find ways to push tenants out even when it’s illegal.
“Renegade landlords” around the country persisted in driving out tenants unable to pay rent during COVID. In Oakland, one landlord changed the locks on the Castillo-Gutierréz family’s home and tore down the property’s fence flanked by unknown men on motorcycles (KQED). Since the moratoriums only prohibit eviction for non-payment of rent, some landlords tried to “skirt the law” by issuing eviction orders citing years-old non-financial issues (Inlander). After Missouri’s Tasha Tavenner was laid off, two men attempted to rip the door of her home, leading her and her four children to camp in the woods for five weeks. A renter in Ohio had the locks illegally changed on her house and the city trash bins so that accumulating garbage would force her to “voluntarily” leave (USA Today).
“There has been quite a bit of retaliation,” said Paige of the Bay Area’s Tenant and Neighborhood Councils (TANC) when speaking with Anti-Racism Daily. In one case, a landlord repeatedly refused to fix a home’s electrical problems until they ignited a fire. “People have been having to live without a fridge or a stove because the landlord is like, if you aren’t going to pay rent I’m not going to fix anything. I haven’t seen a whole lot of consequences even though this is illegal,” they said, adding that “BIPOC are the most affected by landlord harassment.”
“Once the moratorium ends, there’s going to be a massive crisis for non-payment of rent unless we forgive all that rental debt… Evictions have been happening since the beginning of the pandemic,” Max from ACT UP Philadelphia told Anti-Racism Daily. Those already evicted from their homes face evictions from shelters for minor infractions, as well as police violently breaking up homeless encampments. “The CDC said, do not evict homeless encampments during a pandemic. The city ignored that… They evicted a bunch of people who were staying safely outdoors, put them into indoor shelters, and an outbreak started a week after that. We’re pretty sure that the outbreak that killed someone was caused by that encampment eviction.”
Countless articles lament the plight of landlords unable to collect passive income but likewise unable to throw their tenants out on the curb (CNN). One op-ed claimed that canceling rent was anti-feminist because women landlords exist (Buffalo News). But a majority of rental units are owned not by small “mom-and-pop” operations but instead by large “institutional investors” (Harvard). There’s an immense difference between losing profit and being forced to move into the family car or under a bridge. The latter, incommensurably worse possibility is the one disproportionately facing LGBTQ+ and BIPOC people.
We can’t solely depend on continued moratorium extensions. Even with the moratorium in place, rogue landlords persisted in strong-arming and terrorizing tenants out of their homes. What we can do is support community organizations on the frontlines organizing to keep us all sheltered through and beyond the pandemic.
TANC is training renters across the San Francisco Bay Area as organizers to stay in their homes and “get through this crisis, alive, together” (The Appeal). ACT UP Philly is facing down police brutality (CBS) to “demand more plentiful permanent housing for Philadelphians facing homelessness, many of whom are Black and Brown and LGBTQ+” (Philadelphia Gay News).
“It’s a collective fight against gentrification and displacement across the country,” said Paige from TANC. “Try to find a tenant union, a tenant advocacy group, and see if they’re doing eviction defenses when the sheriff arrives to evict people, to document it and show solidarity. In your own living situation, don’t let your landlord walk all over you.”
To advance racial justice and keep all of our communities housed, it’s more important than ever to support organizations building tenant power with or without the moratorium.
Key Takeaways
A lawsuit threatens a new moratorium on evictions.
Even under existing eviction bans, tenants were illegally evicted by landlords and legally evicted from shelters and homeless encampments.
Tenant organizations are addressing a problem disproportionately affecting BIPOC and LGBTQ+ people.
Take action on the IPCC report.
This week, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a sobering report predicting that global temperatures will exceed the 2015 Paris Climate Accords’s limits in just 20 years regardless of government action. The Arctic is expected to be free of ice in the summer at least once by mid-century. In the worst-case scenario, the ocean will rise over six feet by century’s end (New Scientist).
TAKE ACTION
Review the action items below, curated in part by youth environmental activists of color.
GET EDUCATED
This week, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a sobering report predicting that global temperatures will exceed the 2015 Paris Climate Accords’s limits in just 20 years regardless of government action. The Arctic is expected to be free of ice in the summer at least once by mid-century. In the worst-case scenario, the ocean will rise over six feet by century’s end (New Scientist).
We’ve compiled some of our previous coverage highlighting the disproportionate effects environmental degradation has on communities of color in the United States and around the world. But our reporting also highlights that climate disaster isn’t inevitable. People are coming together to resist and transform the oppressive, extractive systems propelling the destruction of the ecological systems that sustain us all. Many of those at the forefront of these movements are from the marginalized communities who bear the brunt of climate change, pollution, and environmental degradation. As recent news demonstrates the urgency of taking action to preserve our world, these are the organizations we should all take time to support.
1. Confront Rising Temperatures
“To preserve a habitable world for all of us and our descendants may require a fundamental shift in how we produce things and structure social and international relations. In the short term, a blanket approach to environmentalism will not suffice. Even major philanthropic foundations are starting to recognize that environmental racism and climate change affect poor nations and communities of color first (AP). Supporting the leadership of these communities in opposing the destructive systems that threaten life as we know it is a human imperative.”
Take Action
Understand the impact of environmental racism.
Support frontline community organizations like Memphis Community Against Pollution and Stop General Iron.
2. Quannah ChasingHorse on Generational Change
“Back when I was ten years old, we would get about 60 fish a day in our net or fish wheel. Now we only get, like, eight, and half of them aren't good to eat because of how toxic the waters have become due to the oil and gas development up North, and the mining… So that’s why I push for advocacy. I think sometimes I’m a rude awakening because not many people accept the fact that the climate crisis affects our way of life and our future generations. I’m afraid that our future generations won’t get the opportunity to learn hands-on, just from books and pictures.”
Take Action
Donate to the Indigenous Environmental Network, an alliance of grassroots Indigenous Peoples whose mission is to protect the sacredness of Mother Earth.
“Saving the Earth isn’t a single-focus issue. Progress lies at the intersection of nearly every human rights issue. Incarceration, immigration, disability justice, global security, landback initiatives – we can’t address any of these until we are willing to analyze how climate change encourages and exacerbates each. In addition, we must understand that the brunt of the adverse impact of climate change will be felt by those most marginalized – not necessarily those that forget to recycle – creating a never-ending cycle of cause and effect. The voices most impacted are often left out of the conversation, developing policies and practices that don’t center those most harmed.”
Take Action
Join a local chapter of a youth-driven organization addressing climate change, including Sunrise Movement, Fridays for Future and Extinction Rebellion.
4. Anya Dillard on Effective Organizing
“I would say that racism and climate change have a lot in common. People love to debate both of their existences, people love to say how either does or doesn’t affect one group, when in reality it affects everyone in the long term. It’s interesting to think about it this way because when we think about racism, we think we’ll be good after we fix our law enforcement system and initiate a reparation system. But in reality, there are a lot of trickle-down effects of racism, and at least one of those falls under the umbrella of environmental change.”
Take Action
Donate to WeGotNext, which amplifies individual stories of adventure and activism from communities that have been underrepresented in outdoor and environmental spaces.
5. Jana Jandal Alrifai on Intersectional Change
“We don't just need to reverse climate change and the climate crisis. We need to make sure that it doesn't happen again. We have to tackle environmental racism, that everyone is not equally impacted by climate change, and that BIPOC communities often have factories and machinery located in their neighborhoods, affecting their health. Their neighborhoods are more likely to flood.”
Take Action
Sign the petition advocating for No More Empty Summits, urging the Biden administration to take more action to address climate change.
“Importantly, climate justice is a grassroots movement. Climate Justice Alliance, for example, comprises frontline organizations. Engagement centered in the communities— not top-down policies created by disengaged congressmen—is necessary. But for BIPOC activists, it can also be dangerous. Jayce Chiblow, a leader at the Canadian organization Indigenous Climate Actions, noted that while ‘Youth are leading us and taking on frontline activity,” many of them experienced violence and were arrested and removed as a result of their activism (Resilience.org). Read some profiles of Indigenous activists here.”
Take Action
Join or support climate justice organizations, such as PODER (@poder.sf), the Environmental Transformation Movement of Flint, or the Center for Earth Energy and Democracy.
7. Alexis Saenz and Community Care
“Our mission is to protect land and water, and to help Indigenous youth become leaders of their communities. We are the International Indigenous Youth Council, which means we include Indigenous people from everywhere, from Mexico, from Panama, from Guatemala, all over. And the goal is to eventually have IIYC chapters across Unči Maka, Mother Earth. Initially, we were focused on frontline non-violent direct action. That's how we started at Standing Rock.”
Take Action
Follow and support the International Indigenous Youth Council.
8. Mohammad Ahmadi on Environmental Activism
“I'm hoping to leave behind a world that is not ravaged by the climate crisis. So we avoid 1.5 degrees Celsius or two degrees of warming each year. I’m just trying to leave behind a more educated population. The youth is the next generation, so if we can educate them, they will demand change from the government faster when they’re older – whether it’s climate justice, racial justice, or anything else.”
Take Action
Donate to Earth Uprising, a nonprofit organization providing resources and opportunities to support the youth climate movement.
Join Earth Uprising as an organizer by filling out this form.
Key Takeaways
43% of white Americans say that they are “very confident” in their tap water, while only 24% of Black Americans and 19% of Hispanic Americans indicate the same degree of confidence.
Corporations are often allowed to bottle and resell municipal tap water at a high mark-up, skirting rules and regulations that disproportionately affect lower-income communities.
We need to mobilize around protecting the source of clean water, and center Indigenous communities who steward the land and waters.
Protect access to drinking water.
The pandemic only accelerated a growing market: bottled water is a trending beverage, fueled by not just water skepticism, but a rise in health-conscious consumer habits. Michael C. Bellas, chairman and CEO of Beverage Marketing Corporation noted that the pandemic “showed how consumers have come to depend on bottled water for healthy, calorie-free hydration and refreshment” (Beverage Marketing). But is it fair that so many people are forced to rely on buying bottled water for their well-being?
TAKE ACTION
Donate to the Lowndes County Unincorporated Wastewater Project to fund onsite wastewater systems.
Take action to stop Line 3 by sending a letter to call for a full federal environmental impact statement regarding the threats of this pipeline. Please customize the letter before sending.
Tell your senators and representatives to support federal investment in getting lead out of our drinking water.
GET EDUCATED
By Nicole Cardoza (she/her)
The pandemic only accelerated a growing market: bottled water is a trending beverage, fueled by not just water skepticism, but a rise in health-conscious consumer habits. Michael C. Bellas, chairman and CEO of Beverage Marketing Corporation noted that the pandemic “showed how consumers have come to depend on bottled water for healthy, calorie-free hydration and refreshment” (Beverage Marketing). But is it fair that so many people are forced to rely on buying bottled water for their well-being?
According to a survey by SOURCE Global PBC, 43% of white Americans say that they are “very confident” in their tap water, while only 24% of Black Americans and 19% of Hispanic Americans indicate the same degree of confidence. And this sentiment was only enforced by the onset of the pandemic. In March 2020, bottled water sales increased by 57% as people stocked up – whether preparing for water shut-offs, stockpiling in the face of uncertainty, or as a result of worsening infrastructure. 25% of Black Americans indicate that they’ve been drinking more bottled water since the pandemic started. In contrast, 62% of white Americans state they haven’t changed their consumption at all (Forbes).
This sharp difference in bottled water consumption is rooted in the systemic inequities found in access to clean water. According to environmental advocacy group, Clean Water Action, 75% of Black Americans are more likely to live near polluting facilities than the general population. In addition, Hispanic American people are twice as likely to live in communities where the drinking water violates contamination laws (Forbes). These communities are often crippled by poor infrastructure that’s only worsening due to the impact of the pandemic.
In Lowndes County, Alabama, there are dozens of residents that have septic tanks in disrepair, with no ability to connect to municipal sewer lines. As a result, raw sewage is backing up into local homes or flowing directly into open-air pits, contaminating drinking water and spreading E. Coli and hookworm. Lowndes County’s Perman Hardy spent “hundreds of hours” advocating for her community until she finally got almost $3 million pledged for wastewater treatment (AL). But a technicality at the County Commission level caused the grant money to be returned in its entirety, leaving residents without recourse (AL). Earlier this year, we also highlighted the issues that homes in Jackson, MS are experiencing; to this day, they are still undergoing boil alerts.
As a result, corporations get to profit off of skepticism and scarcity. Initially, most of the bottled water sold in the U.S. came from natural springs. But as purification processes improved and demand grew, many brands moved to selling bottled tap water collected from the plant’s local utilities provider. Today, most of the bottled water in the U.S. is actually bottled from tap water (The Guardian). When residents in Detroit started to fall behind on their utilities bills during the pandemic, their water was shut off, forcing many to buy bottled water as a fallback. But Coca-Cola, who bottles Dasani water at the company’s Detroit plant, was allowed to rack up past-due bills while they bottled and sold the same water to citizens at a 133x markup (The Guardian). Although major bottled water distributors have been lauded for donating bottled water for those in need, it’s worth scrutinizing the business practices that enable them to be that generous.
The latest infrastructure bill currently under consideration in the Senate includes $15 billion dedicated to improving water quality over the next five years, with some funds specifically allocated to “small and disadvantaged communities” (NYTimes). This bill will be the largest federal investment in clean water in our nation’s history, and designed to address some of the major infrastructure issues affecting people across the U.S. (PBS). But we also need to see more action from the federal government on creating more equity with how major companies can hoard this resource.
We also need more concerted efforts to protect the sources of our water supply, which is increasingly under threat. Consider the current initiative to stop the Line 3 Pipeline, which is expected to funnel nearly a million barrels of tar sands (one of the dirtiest fossil fuels) through Indigenous lands between Alberta, Canada and Wisconsin, trampling through untouched wetlands and the Mississippi River headwaters (Stop Line 3). If we continue to allow corporations to control our relationship to water, rather than listening to the wisdom of Indigenous people that steward our land and water, it’s likely we will have nothing left.
When we talk about the rise of bottled water consumption, the onus is often placed on the individual, blaming them for the environmental impact of all that plastic “going to waste”. Yes, we can all do our part to minimize plastic consumption, and there’s a clear environmental impact (The Guardian). But all that attention is shielding ourselves from the real issue – that significant environmental issues contribute to the consumption of bottled water, not simply caused by them. And it’s going to take significant policy work – both on the local, state and federal level – to address the underlying issues that make clean water inaccessible.
We also need to work on shifting the deep distrust that these disparities have created. My grandmother was raised in a city where they didn’t trust tap water. As a result, she didn’t encourage her children to drink water. Consequently, mom didn’t encourage it with us (while we were young, at least. Her habits have since changed). All this despite the fact that we moved to a rural environment where the water is more trustworthy. In Flint, MI, the lack of trust between residents and city leader after willful neglect during their water crisis influenced public perception of the vaccine (NBC News).
As we continue to advocate for proper infrastructure, support local individuals and organizations doing their best to provide others with clean water, and protect this precious resource. Many of these efforts are grassroots, mutual-aid driven initiatives, organized by brave people uncompromising for change. Maybe you can be that person for your community.
Key Takeaways
43% of white Americans say that they are “very confident” in their tap water, while only 24% of Black Americans and 19% of Hispanic Americans indicate the same degree of confidence.
Corporations are often allowed to bottle and resell municipal tap water at a high mark-up, skirting rules and regulations that disproportionately affect lower-income communities.
We need to mobilize around protecting the source of clean water, and center Indigenous communities who steward the land and waters.
Brew coffee equity.
Many Americans have become enamored with local coffee shops. The domain of “spiked hair,” “postmodern baristas” (LA Weekly), these businesses are so often associated with liberal views that a small number of new coffeehouses now base their marketing around their uniquely conservative politics (The Blaze). The movement of modern, boutique “third-wave” coffeehouses — following the first wave of postwar instant coffee and the second wave exemplified by Starbucks — is even named after third-wave feminism (Tamper Tantrum). Coffeehouses can be presented as intersectional oases where open displays of bigotry are as rare as “Hate Has No Home Here” signs are ubiquitous.
TAKE ACTION
Follow and support coffee companies owned by people of color! I had an overwhelming response to submissions on Twitter – check it out.
Encourage predominantly-white coffeehouses to commit to anti-racism and support local anti-gentrification initiatives.
Support democratically-run, collectively-owned coffee farming.
GET EDUCATED
By Andrew Lee (he/him)
Many Americans have become enamored with local coffee shops. The domain of “spiked hair,” “postmodern baristas” (LA Weekly), these businesses are so often associated with liberal views that a small number of new coffeehouses now base their marketing around their uniquely conservative politics (The Blaze). The movement of modern, boutique “third-wave” coffeehouses — following the first wave of postwar instant coffee and the second wave exemplified by Starbucks — is even named after third-wave feminism (Tamper Tantrum). Coffeehouses can be presented as intersectional oases where open displays of bigotry are as rare as “Hate Has No Home Here” signs are ubiquitous.
However, these trends may distract from real issues of racial equity in the way coffee is produced, sold, and served. First, there are clear racial and socio-economic disparities in the industry. Wealthier people consume more coffee than the less affluent (Brandon Gaille), and coffeehouses looking to soak up some of Starbucks’ customers target “urban,” “affluent,” and “educated” consumers with an average income of $90,000 (The Motley Fool). Given that Black people are less likely to consume coffee or work in the domestic coffee industry (Roast Magazine), this means that coffee shop patrons are disproportionately white. This facilitates shocking acts of racial exclusion against non-white patrons. Two Black men were arrested waiting for a business meeting in a Philadelphia Starbucks. W. Kamau Bell was asked to leave a Berkeley coffee shop after approaching his wife, who is white (ABC 7). Santana Tapia, a transgender Latina resident of San Francisco, felt deeply unwelcome inside the expensive, largely-white coffee establishments appearing in the city where she grew up drinking nightly coffees with her family (MSN).
The affluent, largely white patrons inside gourmet coffee shops can lead to the whitening of the neighborhoods that surround them, as well. Researchers found correlations between the appearance of high-end coffeehouses and neighborhood gentrification in cities around the world (Bitter Root). One Denver shop had the audacity to declare “happily gentrifying the neighborhood since 2014” on a sidewalk sign (Washington Post). Even liberally-oriented establishments can post “Black Lives Matter” signs while doing nothing to address their role in pushing actual Black people out of the neighborhoods they move into (Truthout).
And equity issues start before coffee beans arrive to the cafe. The global coffee industry grew off the labor of enslaved people in places like Java, Haiti, Central America, and Brazil. Today, “shockingly little has changed” as the overwhelming majority of coffee producers are Black, Indigenous, and people of color living in extreme poverty. Indentured Indigenous farmworkers toil without showers, latrines, or adequate drinking water on white-owned plantations (Heifer International). Illiberal practices permeate the the supposedly liberal coffee industry: racial profiling in coffee shops, economic displacement in surrounding neighborhoods, and virtual slavery in the fields where coffee is grown.
Fortunately, people are taking action to bring true equity to the coffee world. Black-owned coffee shop owners and employees like Cafe Grumpy’s Tinuade Oyelowo in New York and Urban Grind’s Cassandra Ingram in Atlanta advocate for inclusion in coffee culture (Roast Magazine). San Francisco’s Santana Tapia helped found a worker-owned pro-queer coffee shop (MSN). Hasta Muerte is a Latinx worker cooperative that sells coffee and serves as a “sanctuary space for people of color, low-income people, and immigrants” (East Bay Express).
Camila Coddou, a former barista who advocates for equity in the industry, asks coffee owners, “Are you dropping into a community of people that don’t look like you who are losing their rights?” (Bitter Root). Community members responded to the Colorado pro-gentrification coffee shop with a boycott and protest (Washington Post). The visibility of these protests pushed local government to double the city’s affordable housing fund (Fox 31). And the Anti Gentrification Coffee Club in Memphis is a coffeehouse run to “deepen the ties in [communities of color], rather than displace them” (Cxffeeblack).
In southern Mexico, coffee plantations formerly owned by wealthy landowners are now democratically run as cooperatives by Mayan farmworkers. Though anti-Indigenous paramilitaries recently attacked the crop stored in two warehouses (ROAR), Mayan communities continue to self-organize coffee production and send it around the world, demonstrating that coffee farming doesn’t require exploitation and deprivation if those growing it are empowered.
Inequalities in the coffee industry don’t mean we have to give up drinking it. But we shouldn’t let the progressive image of coffee culture obscure real work to do in making it equitable for us all.
Key Takeaways
Independent coffee shops are known for being progressive and inclusive.
In actuality, coffeehouses can be exclusive spaces that facilitate gentrification, while much coffee is farmed by unfree workers living in poverty.
People are taking action along the supply chain from the coffee fields to the neighborhood coffee shop to make sure coffee can be good for all of us.
Decolonize the parks.
In his article “Return the National Parks to the Tribes” David Treuer reminds us that national parks are the result of Indigenous dispossession. Everglades National Park is Seminole land. Olympic National Park was created by a violation of a treaty with the Quinault tribe. The first white people to ever see what is now Yosemite National Park were members of a California militia, intent on slaughtering and driving Miwok people off the land and into reservations. “Native people need permanent, unencumbered access to our homelands,” wrote Treuer, an Ojibwe author and historian. “All 85 million acres of national-park sites should be turned over to a consortium of federally recognized tribes in the United States" (The Atlantic).
Happy Tuesday and welcome back to the Anti-Racism Daily. There are over 85 million acres of land designated to the National Parks System across the U.S. But the conservation of this land came at a cost to the Indigenous communities that were displaced as a result. In today's newsletter, Andrew reflects on what should be done to account for this harm.
Are you a K-12 educator in the U.S.? We'd love to hear how conversations re: critical race theory are affecting your classroom. If you have a moment, please complete this survey (and yes, you can share this with your educator friends)!
Thank you for your support! This daily, free, independent newsletter is fully funded by contributions from our readers. Make a monthly or annual donation to join in.
TAKE ACTION
Use the Native Land app to identify the Indigenous communities native to the national park nearest you.
Understand the violent history behind the American park system.
Oppose colonialism in the name of conservation.
GET EDUCATED
By Andrew Lee (he/him)
In his article “Return the National Parks to the Tribes” David Treuer reminds us that national parks are the result of Indigenous dispossession. Everglades National Park is Seminole land. Olympic National Park was created by a violation of a treaty with the Quinault tribe. The first white people to ever see what is now Yosemite National Park were members of a California militia, intent on slaughtering and driving Miwok people off the land and into reservations. “Native people need permanent, unencumbered access to our homelands,” wrote Treuer, an Ojibwe author and historian. “All 85 million acres of national-park sites should be turned over to a consortium of federally recognized tribes in the United States" (The Atlantic).
There are around 7 million Native Americans in the U.S. today. Native Americans have the lowest average educational attainment and the highest poverty rate of any racial or ethnic group (NCRC). This follows an institutionalized practice of genocide dating back to the Declaration of Independence, which cites the Crown’s support of “merciless Indian savages” as a reason for independence. In 1824, all Native Americans were declared wards of the state under the Bureau of Indian Affairs, a part of the Department of War (Indian Country Today). In 1851, the governor of California called for a “war of extermination… until the Indian race becomes extinct.” And in 1864, the Colorado Third Cavalry murdered unarmed, sleeping Cheyenne and Arapaho men, women, and children and mutilated their bodies – carrying out explicit orders to “kill and destroy, as enemies of the country, wherever they may be found, all such hostile Indians” (University of Nebraska). In 1973, federal agents laid siege to an American Indian Movement occupation of Wounded Knee in protest of racial discrimination and conditions at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation (History).
In the present day, Standing Rock Sioux tribe members were instrumental in opposing the Dakota Access Pipeline, a massive oil infrastructure project currently paused for an environmental review (MSN). Protestors convened to physically prevent pipeline construction and were met with pepper spray and attack dogs from the pipeline guards (Democracy Now). Police threw a grenade that nearly took off a woman’s arm (NBC). Indigenous women and Two-Spirit people are currently spearheading resistance to the Line 3 tar sands pipeline in Minnesota (MSP Mag). Some tribal nations and Native American organizations are already leading the fight for sovereignty and against extractive industries. Giving the land of the National Parks back would undo part of the harm of settler-colonialism and be beneficial to all of us. Nobody would have to figure out individual land titles since their territory is already directly owned by the Federal government.
To give back the National Parks would also put an end to some of the racism baked into American conservation from the beginning. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Madison Grant was inventing the concept of a wilderness park as we now know it. He made sure the last California redwoods weren’t logged. He advocated for the creation of Denali, Olympic, and Glacier National Parks. He was also a raving white supremacist whose 1916 The Passing of the Great Race warned of the “racial abyss” awaiting America thanks to Black people, Irish, Syrians, Italians, “Slovaks,” and “Polish Jews” (Mother Jones). His Bronx River Parkway project was specially planned to displace Black and immigrant communities. And “his model of uninhabited national parks” of course required “forced removals of indigenous populations.”
There is precedent for settler-colonial states executing mass transfers of land they have stolen. In Australia, over half the Northern Territory has been returned to Aboriginal peoples, including Uluru, previously known as Ayers Rock (The Atlantic). In the U.S., there was already a proposal to make the South Unit of Badlands National Park the country’s first Tribal National Park, administered directly by the Oglala Sioux tribe (NY Times).
It’s time to decolonize this nation’s parks.
Key Takeaways
The U.S. park system was created through indigenous dispossession and inspired by an active white supremacist.
Some advocate that all national park sites are turned over to Indigenous communities.
There is precedent for mass land transfers back to indigenous people, as in Australia’s Northern Territory.
RELATED ISSUES
7/7/2021 | Unpack the history of Indigenous boarding schools.
11/26/2020 | Support the land back movement.
1/25/2021 | Unpack "This Land is Your Land".
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Confront rising temperatures.
Neighborhoods of color affected by redlining, historic bank and government-sponsored housing discrimination, are five degrees hotter than non-redlined neighborhoods since they have dramatically less tree cover. In Portland, OR, they’re a shocking 13 degrees warmer (NPR). Communities of color are where state and business elites dump toxic chemicals, coal-fired power plants, and chemical factories across the country. “The climate emergency will have a disproportionate impact on Black and Brown communities” (Guardian) since “the lack of equitable investment in low-income communities leaves people even more at risk for climate change impacts” (NRDC).
Happy Monday and welcome back! You may be living in a city that experienced some significantly high temps last week. But who's responsible for the rising temperatures, and who's most affected? Today, Andrew unpacks the issue for today's newsletter.
For more perspectives on the environment and the future of this planet, I highly recommend reading our Earth Week series where we interviewed leading youth environmental justice activists on their work. It's available in full in our archives.
Thank you for your support! This daily, free, independent newsletter is fully funded by contributions from our readers. Make a monthly or annual donation to join in.
TAKE ACTION
Understand environmental racism and the disproportionate impacts of climate change on oppressed communities in the U.S. and abroad.
Recognize how the U.S. military and major corporations fuel global warming.
Support grassroots efforts by people of color to end environmental racism and climate change. If you have capacity, support an organization on an ongoing basis.
GET EDUCATED
By Andrew Lee (he/him)
Swathes of North America have been embroiled in a blistering, record-setting heat wave. The Lake Mead reservoir, which provides water to 25 million, is at the lowest level ever since its construction in the 1930s (CNN). In Vancouver, British Columbia, shellfish are being baked to death in their shells (Business Insider). Dozens of people died in Oregon alone when temperatures reached 116 degrees (Newsweek). After temperatures broke 121 Fahrenheit, a rapidly-moving wildfire consumed the entire town of Lytton (CNN). A group of scientists reported that heat so “far outside the range of past observed temperatures” is “virtually impossible without the influence of human-caused climate change” (CNN). That means this summer’s extremes aren’t a fluke but rather part of a near-apocalyptic pattern.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the average global temperature will rise by two to four degrees Celsius by century’s end, though a rise of just 1.5 degrees would “near the upper limit of what’s tolerable” (KQED). Overshooting that mark means daily flooding along the East Coast (Press Herald), a billion people fleeing droughts and starvation (Reuters), and frequent heat waves severe enough to cook the organs inside your body (The Conversation). These aren’t worst-case scenarios, they’re projections of what happens should current trends continue.
Given the disasters already in motion and predictions of regular organ-cooking temperatures across large swathes of the inhabited world, it’s understandable to think we’re all doomed. When global ecosystems are at a crisis point, we’re all in this together, right?
But in a deeply unequal world, a global crisis has wildly uneven effects. A rising tide may lift all boats, but those closest to shore drown first. There are some for whom climate catastrophe is a cause for hand-wringing concern about their hypothetical grandchildren’s living standards. There are others for whom the crisis arrived years ago.
Neighborhoods of color affected by redlining, historic bank and government-sponsored housing discrimination, are five degrees hotter than non-redlined neighborhoods since they have dramatically less tree cover. In Portland, OR, they’re a shocking 13 degrees warmer (NPR). Communities of color are where state and business elites dump toxic chemicals, coal-fired power plants, and chemical factories across the country. “The climate emergency will have a disproportionate impact on Black and Brown communities” (Guardian) since “the lack of equitable investment in low-income communities leaves people even more at risk for climate change impacts” (NRDC). When Lytton burned, those hardest-hit were the 1,000 members of Indigenous Nlaka’pamux community (CNN). And the climate refugees are already here: a devastating drought is one of the factors pushing the Central American migrants whom the Biden administration keeps incarcerating at the U.S.-Mexico border (ABC).
Droughts and rising sea levels already threaten modern-day U.S. colonies like the U.S. Virgin Islands (Caribbean Journal), “purchased” from Denmark in the early 20th century, and Guam, “acquired” in the Spanish-American War, where 34% of coral reefs died between 2013 and 2017. “One of the first steps is self-determination,” said the vice-chair of Guam’s Climate Change Resiliency Commission. “We’re a colony, and that’s part of dialogue” (Pacific Daily News).
While the poorest communities and nations bear the brunt of the ongoing climatological disaster, those with the most economic power and military might are those creating and profiting from it. Liberal environmentalists claim that the solution to climate change is changing personal consumer choices, like driving less or buying “green.”
But promoting recycling doesn’t change the fact that one of the largest polluters in the world is the U.S. military, which uses 270,000 barrels of oil a day and emits more greenhouse gases than most countries (Yahoo). Multinational corporations are responsible for 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions. “Walmart... generated more emissions abroad than the whole of Germany’s foreign-owned retail sector. Coca-Cola’s emissions around the world were equivalent to the whole of the foreign-owned food and drink industry hosted by China” (Ecologist).
Some say that humans are killing the planet, that we are all at risk and all of us are to blame. This is untrue. Upper management and investors in multinational corporations and American government elites are destroying the planet, and the very people they have long preyed upon are the first to be displaced, starve, roast, drown, and die.
To preserve a habitable world for all of us and our descendants may require a fundamental shift in how we produce things and structure social and international relations. In the short term, a blanket approach to environmentalism will not suffice. Even major philanthropic foundations are starting to recognize that environmental racism and climate change affect poor nations and communities of color first (AP). Supporting the leadership of these communities in opposing the destructive systems that threaten life as we know it is a human imperative.
Key Takeaways
Climate change and environmental degradation disproportionately impact marginalized communities of color in the U.S. and around the world.
Those heating the planet are powerful institutions like major corporations and the U.S. military.
These communities should lead the way in fighting for environmental justice.
RELATED ISSUES
4/22/2021 | Mohammad Ahmadi on Environmental Activism
4/23/2021 | Daphne Frias and Disability Justice
4/25/2021 | Jana Jandal Alrifai on Intersectional Change
PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT
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Make swimming more inclusive
Last week, the International Swimming Federation (FINA) banned swimming caps for Black hair from the Tokyo Olympics because they don’t follow “the natural form of the head”. Soul Cap, a company that makes swimming caps designed to fit over thick, curly hair and hairstyles common in the Black community, said that the international governing body for swimming rejected an application for their caps to be certified for use at competitions (Washington Post). After a week of criticism from athletes, partners, and the general public, the organization announced Wednesday that it would revisit this decision (NPR).
Happy Friday and welcome back to the Anti-Racism Daily! There’s been a series of discriminatory policies affecting Black athletes participating in the Tokyo Olympics. These policies reflect institutionalized racism that’s been codified throughout history. Today’s newsletter looks at the history of access to swimming pools and how it shapes participation in the sport today.
Thank you for your support! This daily, free, independent newsletter is made possible by your support. Make a monthly donation to support our team.
– Nicole
TAKE ACTION
Watch the documentary “Passage at St. Augustine: The 1964 Black Lives Matter Movement That Transformed America” to learn more about wade-ins during the Civil Rights Movement.
Donate to Tank Proof, a nonprofit organization making swim classes accessible to historically excluded youth.
Consider: How does the local beach, pool, or other recreational space in your community prioritize diversity and inclusion?
GET EDUCATED
By Nicole Cardoza (she/her)
Last week, the International Swimming Federation (FINA) banned swimming caps for Black hair from the Tokyo Olympics because they don’t follow “the natural form of the head”. Soul Cap, a company that makes swimming caps designed to fit over thick, curly hair and hairstyles common in the Black community, said that the international governing body for swimming rejected an application for their caps to be certified for use at competitions (Washington Post). After a week of criticism from athletes, partners, and the general public, the organization announced Wednesday that it would revisit this decision (NPR).
This continues a series of discriminatory policies facing Black female Olympic athletes as the 2020 Games approach, drawing broader calls of racism (Salon). But this example, in particular, touches on a long and troubling history of banning Black people from participating in aquatic activities.
Before World War I, municipal pools acted as public bathhouses, frequented by people from all backgrounds, social classes, and races (although men and women were required to swim on different days). But after the war, the rise of recreational spaces in the U.S. shifted the concept of pools from utility to leisure. Swimming became more of a luxury than a necessity. Rules changed so men and women could swim together, drawing families and creating a new social activity for mingling. By 1933, Americans were spending as much time in pools as at the movie theatres (NPR).
But as swimming as a leisure activity grew, so did racial discrimination against Black people at pools. White people worried about having Black men swimming with white women. Some fears drew on racial tropes that Black men were sexually violent. Others were concerned that co-mingling would encourage interracial relationships. White elites also perceived Black, Asian and Latino people – even working-class white people – as dirty and prone to carry communicable diseases (National Geographic). As a result, many pools had “whites-only” days, pools were often sequestered in white neighborhoods, and individuals and local governments alike would reinforce who “belonged” in public swimming spaces (NPR).
And it wasn’t just pools – similar discriminatory practices affected how Black people and other people of color could access any public recreational spaces, including movie theatres, dance halls, amusement parks, and beaches.
These public spaces became the center of demonstrations for racial equity. Organized protests, referred to as “wade-ins,” were held at beaches and pools, where Black people and allies would get in the water where they were not allowed (History). In one highly publicized incident in 1964, Black and white protestors jumped into the Monson Motor Lodge pool in St. Augustine, FL. The manager, infuriated, dumped acid into the pool while the protestors were swimming (St. Augustine). Photos from the incident accelerated the civil rights movement, and pushed President Johnson to get the Civil Rights Act passed. View photos from the protest, and read a reflection on how the St. Augustine local paper covered the Civil Rights Movement.
In theory, the passing of the act should have ended racially segregated public spaces. Instead, many public pools closed. Others charged high fees, only allowed people that lived close by, and implemented “referral-only” policies to keep the space exclusive (National Geographic). This also sparked the rise of the backyard pool trend, as wealthy white people instead decided to have a pool space all to themselves. Public pools, already a costly investment for initial installation and upkeep, received less funding overall as a result. Many shut down (National Geographic).
This discrimination has lasting implications. According to a 2017 report from the USA Swimming Foundation, 64% of African American children had no or low swimming ability, compared to 40% of white children (Swimming World Magazine). More importantly, the study indicates that if a parent does not know how to swim, there is only a 13% chance that their child will learn how to swim. Unsurprisingly, not learning how to swim greatly increases one’s risk of drowning. According to the YMCA, swim lessons for children ages 1-4 reduce the risk of drowning by 88% (YMCA). The CDC reported that, between 1999 and 2010, Black children drowned in swimming pools at a rate of up to 10 times higher than their white peers (CDC). It will take conscious effort to undo the harm of the past and make aquatics feel more accessible to all.
Key Takeaways
The International Swimming Federation is reconsidering a decision to ban swimming caps for Black hair from the Tokyo Olympics.
Black people have long been banned from aquatic spaces through explicit policies, referral and fee-based exclusion, and even the closure of public in favor of private pools.
As a result, Black people have much lower rates of swimming ability than white people, leading to a dramatically higher risk of death by drowning.
RELATED ISSUES
5/31/2021 | Learn about safe haven communities.
9/22/2020 | Learn about sundown towns.
5/12/2021 | Reverse racist land grabs.
PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT
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Support immigrant vendors.
The rapidly gentrifying Silicon Valley city of San José, California, is home to one of the largest flea markets in the country (Yahoo). Since 1960, generations of largely immigrant vendors have set up stalls on its 30 acres. The flea market and the 700 vendors who depend on it are threatened today by the construction of a “transit village” around a new light-rail station.
Happy Tuesday, and welcome back. In today's issue, we're highlighting an issue in San Jose, CA, that's not specifically unique to just this community. Learn more about the role of gentrification and corporate developments in fostering inequities, and what you can do to help.
Thank you for your support! This daily, free, independent newsletter is made possible by your support. Consider making a donation to support our work. You can start a monthly subscription on Patreon or our website, or give one-time using our website, PayPal, or Venmo (@nicoleacardoza).
– Nicole
TAKE ACTION
Take action today by telling San José city council members to vote no on flea market redevelopment. Sample script: “I’m calling/emailing to oppose the Berryessa redevelopment. There’s no excuse to displace hundreds of vendors. We are watching and demand you do the right thing today.”
Contact the San José Flea Market and say you support the vendors by calling (408) 453 1110 and emailing hope@sjfm.com and pat@sjfm.com. Sample script: “I’m calling/emailing in support of the Flea Market Vendors Association. We demand each vendor receive adequate compensation and a permanent spot. What has been offered is not nearly enough. Do the right thing!”
Follow the Vendor Association and sign their petition for a community benefits agreement from the city.
Support immigrants in your community beyond the headlines.
GET EDUCATED
By Andrew Lee (he/him)
The rapidly gentrifying Silicon Valley city of San José, California, is home to one of the largest flea markets in the country (Yahoo). Since 1960, generations of largely immigrant vendors have set up stalls on its 30 acres. The flea market and the 700 vendors who depend on it are threatened today by the construction of a “transit village” around a new light-rail station.
Though the new train station is a public investment, it’s explicitly “meant to serve a new Google campus with up to 25,000 employees” (SF Chronicle). Community activists already opposed the development, which they fear will raise housing costs enough to displace tens of thousands of people. In the words of one resident, “A San José Google campus will erase my existence” (Silicon Valley De-Bug).
In May, Google announced they’re “rallying support for immigrant rights” (Google). Google Doodles have celebrated Chicana theorist Gloria Anzaldúa, union leader Cesar Chavez, and Tejana music icon Selena Quintanilla (Google). And the cafeterias at Google’s current headquarters offer employees a urbane selection of global foods from chicken enchiladas to charred pork belly with shaved jicama salad (Business Insider). But this public infrastructure development created specifically for the company’s benefit may directly displace hundreds of immigrant vendors. Moreover, its new campus could economically displace thousands more.
And while it’s largely first- and second-generation immigrants working as San José flea market vendors, the flea market itself is owned by the white Bumb family. Though the Bumbs have made “millions” from the flea market (Metro Active), they refuse to negotiate in good faith with vendors seeking to preserve their livelihoods.
“I’m a second-generation vendor. I was raised in the flea market. My dad has been selling there for years,” community leader Kaled Escobedo told Anti-Racism Daily. Fresh off a hunger strike against the destruction of the flea market, she shared that her family’s blanket stand helped her pay her way through college. “That’s the only source of income my dad gets,” she said.
The city and Bumb family plan to shrink the flea market to 5 acres, offering only $4,000 to each vendor as compensation. This amount covers less than two months of rent for a one-bedroom San José apartment at market price (Zumper). The vendor association is demanding that San José city council vote against the redevelopment plan today, Tuesday, June 29, and that the Bumb family agree to reasonable demands that include fair compensation and vendor security. They are asking for wide support to achieve both of these goals. Ultimately, said Escobedo, “We want to be in charge of the market.” She envisions a future where the market is controlled by the immigrant families who make it work. Spaces like the San José Flea Market provide a space for communities to only make a living.
As someone born outside the U.S. and married to a first-generation immigrant, I’m interested in what we understand as “supporting immigrants” now that we have a new administration. The Trump administration’s baldly racist, nativist immigration policies sparked wide and justified opposition. Hundreds of cities rallied against “zero-tolerance” immigration policies in June 2018 alone (CNN). Liberal Americans developed what was, for some, a new-found respect for immigrants, one seemingly absent when then-Senator Obama declared, “We simply cannot allow people to pour into the United States undetected, undocumented, unchecked” (AP). Some tried to oppose Trump by calling America “a nation of immigrants,” an objectively false and harmful idea (Colorlines). Do we only fight for immigrants when Republicans are in power and invent excuses for Democratic administrations continuing the same inhumane policies (NPR)? Do those born in the U.S. actually support real-life immigrants in their communities or view them as political tokens and providers of interesting culture to consume and discard at will?
The answer is important because immigrant communities remain under threat, not only by deportation but police brutality, economic exploitation, and gentrification, as well (Urban Institute, The Atlantic). To support oppressed and marginalized communities means showing up even if there’s no immediate reward. It means showing up in the years where there’s no election. It means showing up though you may never set foot in a certain market or low-income neighborhood in your life. It means supporting immigrant businesses and workers of color even when they aren’t selling anything you might wish to consume. That’s what it means to be in solidarity, and it’s what is necessary for us to build communities where all of us can thrive.
Key Takeaways
Some outsiders think about immigrant communities as political tokens or only consider them in relation to the food, music, or other products they produce.
Corporations might support immigrants or other oppressed communities rhetorically while harming them in practice.
Solidarity must be a constant practice.
RELATED ISSUES
6/10/2021 | Support immigrants beyond food.
10/5/2020 | Protect undocumented Americans.
8/10/2020 | Respect the relationship between name and identity.
PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT
Thank you for all your financial contributions! If you haven't already, consider making a monthly donation to this work. These funds will help me operationalize this work for greatest impact.
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Unpack “Black-on-Black crime”.
Aristotle said, “Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime” (Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality). But in the wake of violence in impoverished Black communities, we often only hear the same refrain: “Why is no one doing anything about this?” The idea that nobody in Black communities works to stop community violence is racist, classist, and false.
It's Friday! Welcome back, and thanks so much for being a part of our community. I really like the perspective that Tiffany offers in today's piece; not only is the notion of "Black-on-Black crime" weaponized to minimize racial violence, it often fails to recognize the incredible work of local community organizers. As you read, consider: what has shaped your notion of the topics listed below? What do you need to learn or unlearn in your own community?
Thank you for your support! This daily, free, independent newsletter is made possible by your support. If you can, consider making a donation to support our team. You can start a monthly subscription on Patreon or our website, or give one-time using our website, PayPal, or Venmo (@nicoleacardoza).
Have a great day!
Nicole
TAKE ACTION
Follow and support local organizations like Operation Save Our City and Mothers in Charge in Philly, GoodKids MadCity and Mothers Against Senseless Killings in Chicago, Take Back Our Streets in Oakland, and Stand Up To Violence in the Bronx.
Explore independent, Black-owned community newspapers to catch stories that mainstream media miss.
Read about the Black Clergy of Philadelphia’s plan to stop violence through economic investment and community support.
GET EDUCATED
By Tiffany Onyejiaka (she/her)
Aristotle said, “Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime” (Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality). But in the wake of violence in impoverished Black communities, we often only hear the same refrain: “Why is no one doing anything about this?”
The idea that nobody in Black communities works to stop community violence is racist, classist, and false.
In 1979, Ebony magazine made the first reference to “Black-on-Black crime,” saying, “Although the black community is not responsible for the external conditions that systematically create breeding grounds for crime, the community has the responsibility of doing what it can to attack the problem from within” (ABC News). These conditions were created by American white supremacy, as the government’s own 1968 Kerner Commission acknowledged when it wrote, “White society is deeply implicated in the ghetto. White institutions created it, white institutions maintain it, and white society condones it” (Smithsonian).
Commentators don’t bring up Black intra-community violence to change these conditions created by American racial capitalism (Truthout). And we never hear about white-on-white violence. The specter of “Black-on-Black crime” is not a sincere reckoning with the causes and effects of poverty and interpersonal violence in Black communities. It’s a racist dog whistle. More often than not, “Black-on-Black crime” is weaponized to deflect attention from anti-Black police violence.
After a tragic weekend with over 100 shootings in Chicago (Block Club Chicago), Fox News host Geraldo Rivera tweeted, “It was most violent single day in 6 decades, per Chicago Sun Times. Will #BlackLivesMatters speak out? Will anyone kneel for them?” (Twitter). The killings are mentioned not to mourn the dead, but only to attack Black Lives Matter. If Rivera cared about those killed, he wouldn’t discuss them only to oppose a movement for racial justice.
Historically, Black folks have been deemed lazy, unresourceful, and submissive (Smithsonian). To ask “why is nobody doing anything about this?” presumes that Black folks condone violence against their families, friends, and neighbors.
When individuals and the media perpetuate the notion that Black people in low-income neighborhoods are indifferent to interpersonal violence, they also erase the work of community organizers across the country. If Rivera cared about Black intra-community violence, he would have taken a few minutes to research how Chicago activists banded together to address community violence (Block Club Chicago). He would have cited Black women-led groups like Chicago’s Mothers Against Senseless Killings (MASK) and Philadelphia’s Mothers in Charge (MIC). He would have talked about campaigns like Baltimore’s Safe Streets, where community members de-escalate violent events and prevent violence at the source (Safe Streets).
Every day, people in inner cities work to eradicate violence in their communities. Groups like Operation Save Our City in Philly (Facebook), GoodKids MadCity in Chicago (GKMC), Take Back Our Streets in Oakland (Facebook), and Stand Up To Violence in the Bronx (Facebook) are all grassroots initiatives made up of people working to fight violence in their own communities. They receive minimal recognition and little acclaim. The majority of Americans simply don’t know they exist.
These grassroots anti-violence organizations are led by members of low-income communities themselves. One reason they receive little attention is classism. To a middle-class audience, their campaigns may seem less “professional” or “respectable” than those run by nonprofits or college groups. Even in the realm of racial justice, Black organizations that have representation from middle- or upper-class backgrounds often garner more attention. But those most directly affected by social problems often have the best knowledge about how to set them right, even if they have access to minimal resources and power.
The loss of independent news outlets is another barrier to learning about these community efforts. Independent outlets such as Block Club Chicago report on local organizing much more than national, mainstream publications. Supporting local, independent news led by writers of color can give exposure to the wonderful community organizations trying to help their neighborhoods thrive.
After highly-publicized Black intra-community violence, “Why is nobody doing anything about this?” is the wrong question.
We might consider some others:
“How can we support community organizations working on community violence?”
“How do we support activists beyond those we see on CNN or social media?”
“Why do organizations doing the most work on the ground get the least donations?”
“How can I help make sure all of the communities around me have the resources and safety their members need to thrive?”
We can’t do that until we unpack the idea of “Black-on-Black violence.”
Key Takeaways
In every city across America, Black people (often without needed resources) find ways to combat community violence in different ways.
Classism and elitism still occur in activist spaces. Community-based organizations and activists without degrees or professional connections can be at risk of getting overlooked.
It’s important to read local and independent news and media to learn about community-based efforts that mainstream media misses.
RELATED ISSUES
11/15/2020 | Learn the key terminology.
11/9/2020 | Seek solidarity, not charity.
9/3/2020 | Support mental health response services.
PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT
Thank you for all your financial contributions! If you haven't already, consider making a monthly donation to this work. These funds will help me operationalize this work for greatest impact.
Subscribe on Patreon | Give one-time on PayPal | Venmo @nicoleacardoza
Question private security forces.
Citizen is a privately-owned “public safety” app that reports neighborhood crime to residents. It has 5 million active users, more App Store downloads than Twitter (Forbes), and is backed by venture capital firms like Sequoia Capital, which is also investing in heavyweights like Cisco, Instagram, and YouTube (Sequoia). It’s a rebrand of an app called Vigilante, which actually encouraged users to go after suspected criminals (Tech Crunch). After the Pacific Palisades fire last month, Citizen sent the full name and photo of a suspected arsonist to 860,000 users. Citizen put a $30,000 bounty on this man, who was unhoused (Oaklandside), and, as in its days as Vigilante, encouraged its users to “get out there and bring this guy to justice” (Vox). As it turns out, he was innocent.
It's Friday and we're back with another Anti-Racism Daily. Our nation's history of policing isn't just seen in law enforcement, but privatized security, too. The Citizen app is purportedly releasing their own private security system that users can deploy at will. Andrew shares more in today's newsletter.
Thank you for keeping this independent platform going. In honor of our one year anniversary, become a monthly subscriber on our website or Patreon this week and we'll send you some swag! You can also give one-time on Venmo (@nicoleacardoza), PayPal or our website.
– Nicole
TAKE ACTION
#DeleteCitizen and encourage others to do the same.
Follow and support efforts to disrupt white supremacist vigilantism.
Engage with efforts to disarm and regulate private security. Invest instead in community-led public safety initiatives.
GET EDUCATED
By Andrew Lee (he/him)
Citizen is a privately-owned “public safety” app that reports neighborhood crime to residents. It has 5 million active users, more App Store downloads than Twitter (Forbes), and is backed by venture capital firms like Sequoia Capital, which is also investing in heavyweights like Cisco, Instagram, and YouTube (Sequoia). It’s a rebrand of an app called Vigilante, which actually encouraged users to go after suspected criminals (Tech Crunch). After the Pacific Palisades fire last month, Citizen sent the full name and photo of a suspected arsonist to 860,000 users. Citizen put a $30,000 bounty on this man, who was unhoused (Oaklandside), and, as in its days as Vigilante, encouraged its users to “get out there and bring this guy to justice” (Vox). As it turns out, he was innocent.
Days later, the news broke that a black Citizen SUV was prowling Los Angeles. Citizen said the vehicle, connected to a local “subscription law enforcement” firm, is part of a “pilot project.” It seems Citizen plans to augment its surveillance and vigilantism network with private police (Vice). Many have expressed concerns that this could lead to harassment and violence based on racial profiling.
The past year has thrown light on two pillars of American white supremacy. On one hand, the police commit atrocities against Black and Brown people with few consequences. On the other, neo-Nazis and militant nativists commit “lone wolf” attacks in an attempt to provoke a race war. (For why we don’t refer to such zealots as terrorists, see this previous article.)
Citizen exemplifies a third pillar: the vigilantes, civic groups, and private companies that enforce white supremacy. Unlike the police or National Guard, they aren’t an arm of the state. And unlike neo-Nazi mass shooters, they aren’t right-wing revolutionaries seeking to replace the political order with something even worse. This third pillar is composed of organizations that operate, with the tacit or official support of the authorities, to maintain the current economic, political, and racial order. That is, they are private enforcers of what supporters of a deeply unequal society might deem “public order.”
In the past, the government empowered citizens to kill Indigenous people and kidnap people who escaped from slavery. The 20th century Ku Klux Klan recruited white Protestants who felt threatened by immigration and the Bolshevik revolution (Britannica). Though the Klan wasn’t the government, “in Muncie, Indiana—the ‘Middletown’ that sociologists Robert Staughton Lynd and Helen Merrell Lynd studied as the embodiment of 1920s America—the mayor was a loyal Klansman, as were the president of the local school board and the secretary of the YMCA.” “Sundown town” legislation that barred people of color after dark was enforced not only by local police but also by the threat of lynchings from local residents (The Atlantic). Last year, New Mexican law enforcement saw an ally in the New Mexico Civil Guard, a militia organization that shot an antifascist counterprotester (History News Network).
In 1892, thousands of Southern and Eastern European immigrant mill workers went on strike. The owners, Carnegie Steel, brought in 300 heavily-armed private soldiers from the Pinkerton Detective Agency, who murdered 7 striking workers as they attempted to clear the mill (Britannica). At this time, the Pinkertons were larger than the U.S. Army (History).
In the present day, private security firm G4S was paid $1.7 million to run Guantánamo Bay. Israeli government-contracted G4S to run prisons in the occupied West Bank where children are kept in solitary confinement (Guardian); in Australia, an Aboriginal elder was “cooked to death” in a G4S prison van (Guardian). A G4S subsidiary was acquired by another security firm, Allied Universal, making it the third-largest employer in North America (Yahoo).
Section 8 residents are patrolled by private security with automatic rifles and mauled by their guard dogs (Chicago Reporter). Though not law enforcement, campus police are able to harass and abuse non-students residing close to campus. In one case, University of Chicago police stopped, stripped, and beat a man with a malfunctioning car horn (Leagle). See the interview with Alecia from the Cops Off Campus coalition. Mall security killed a Black man in Detroit who died crying out “I can’t breathe” (Huff Post). Private security stabbed a man in the chest after confronting him for theft (Fox 5). When Luis Quintero tried to explain a parking dispute to an Allied Universal security officer at a Texas mall, she pulled a gun with her finger on the trigger (ABC 13).
When fighting for racial justice, we need to keep violent non-state actors like vigilantes and security firms front and center. Citizen is both: a massive business that both inspires vigilantism and aspires to become privatized law enforcement. As Hari Ziyad wrote in a piece on abolition, “Safety is not a universally recognized phenomenon, as much as it is pretended to be. The meaning of safety depends on what exactly you find worthy of protection” (Salon).
Key Takeaways
The app Citizen has 5 million users. It has encouraged vigilantism and unjustified arrest and is taking steps to become private law enforcement.
Private security firms have committed numerous killings and abuses with little oversight.
White vigilante groups have long collaborated with law enforcement to enact racist laws and commit extrajudicial murders.
We need to interrogate “public safety” in a racist, classist society.
RELATED ISSUES
3/1/2021 | Support unaccompanied minors.
2/15/2021 | Advocate for Black immigrants.
12/9/2020 | Amplify mental health resources for immigrants.
PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT
Thank you for all your financial contributions! If you haven't already, consider making a monthly donation to this work. These funds will help me operationalize this work for greatest impact.
Subscribe on Patreon | Give one-time on PayPal | Venmo @nicoleacardoza
Learn about safe haven communities.
The Freedom Georgia Initiative springs from a “desire to create generational wealth for our families” in a place where “restoration, recreation, and reformation” are possible. The ability to conserve family resources and enjoy ample rest and recreation has been denied to generations of Black families. As an explicitly pro-Black city in an anti-Black nation, Freedom, Georgia hopes to be a new start (Complex).
Happy Monday, and welcome back to the Anti-Racism Daily! A special thanks to our members of the military reading this right now.
Friday's email outlined the history of the Tulsa Race Massacre and the importance of paying reparations to acknowledge and account for the devastation and loss that its victims and descendants experienced.
Today is a story about what restoring and rebuilding can look like, highlighting a Black community in Georgia. As you read, consider: what does a safe haven mean for you? What does safety mean for you? And how can we become active members of our community for its growth and development?
Thank you to everyone that makes this work possible. If you want to support, give monthly on Patreon. Or you can give one-time on our website or PayPal. You can also support us by joining our curated digital community.
Nicole
ps – some of the Take Action resources we provided in Friday's newsletter didn't work for some of our readers. If you want to take more direct action to support Tulsa, you can sign this petition or make a donation that directly supports survivors and descendants of the massacre.
TAKE ACTION
Read Ashley Scott’s op-ed about the Freedom Georgia Initiative’s goals.
Follow or support the Freedom Georgia Initiative (Instagram).
Learn about New Communities, an earlier effort to build community for Black people in Georgia.
GET EDUCATED
By Andrew Lee (he/him)
In December, the site of a soon-to-be-built Georgia city quintupled. Earlier that year, jogger Ahmaud Arbery was murdered by white men whose arrests would take two months of protests and public pressure (USA Today). More than a dozen families purchased land to create a new city free of white supremacy in the aftermath of this atrocity. With the December addition, the site of Freedom, Georgia now comprises over 500 acres (Fox 5).
The Freedom Georgia Initiative springs from a “desire to create generational wealth for our families” in a place where “restoration, recreation, and reformation” are possible. The ability to conserve family resources and enjoy ample rest and recreation has been denied to generations of Black families. As an explicitly pro-Black city in an anti-Black nation, Freedom, Georgia hopes to be a new start (Complex).
Ever since Emancipation, Black land and property have been seized, looted, attacked, and, in the case of Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Black Wall Street, firebombed from airplanes (American Prospect) (CNBC). In part, because it’s so hard to build intergenerational wealth without land, the average Black family has only 10% of the wealth of the average white family (USA Today). These practices have inspired generations of resistance. Freedom, Georgia, isn’t the first effort of its kind in the United States. It isn’t even the first initiative of its sort in Georgia.
In 1960, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) started organizing against the disenfranchisement of Black people under Jim Crow laws in the South. But Black farmers who registered to vote in SNCC voting drives faced eviction by white landowners. For many people, homelessness was the price of political participation (New Communities). To learn more about how Black people have been pushed out of farming, see our piece on Agricultural Education.
SNCC co-founder Charles Sherrod and his wife Shirley realized that control of land was an essential part of Black liberation. In 1969, the Sherrods started a collective farm in Lee County, Georgia, where Black people could live and work on community-controlled land without fear of retribution from white landlords. This farm, called New Communities, was the first example of a model of collective land ownership for community benefit called a community land trust.
“It really gave me a sense that I can do anything,” said Bummi Anderson of her childhood growing up in New Communities. “It was a group of people coming together really with the same ideals, the same hopes, and dreams for their children. We were a product of that, and so we grew up having the same sense of pride on who we were as African-Americans” (NPR).
Today, community land trusts preserve collectively-controlled, truly affordable housing across the country (Schumacher Center). New Communities understood that we need control of our homes and neighborhoods to struggle for justice. Today, the Freedom Georgia Initiative is walking a similar road as they plan utility infrastructure before moving onto the design and construction of the new city (Insider).
Co-founder Ashley Scott says that today’s Freedom Georgia Initiative was inspired by the realization that Black life was threatened even in cities with Black mayors and police chiefs, such as Atlanta. Scott says, “It was clear that developing new cities was necessary because these old ones, even with strong Black leadership, have too many deep-rooted problems…We figured we could try to fix a broken system or we could start fresh. Start a city that could be a shining example of being the change you want to see” (Blavity).
Those involved in the Initiative are the first to acknowledge that the road ahead will not be easy. “It is a long game,” Scott told the Insider. “Nothing is changed overnight.” Fighting racism by leaving existing American communities behind entirely to attempt to create a new one from scratch may seem a drastic move. But it’s nothing compared to the ways America has enforced anti-Black racism, exploitation, and death for centuries. From the horrors of chattel slavery to the violence of Jim Crow, from the assassination of civil rights leaders to the police murders and mass incarceration of today, generations of efforts to reform American white supremacy have failed to put it to an end. In the words of scholars Darrick Hamilton and Trevon Logan, “The most just approach would be a comprehensive reparation program that acknowledges these grievances and offers compensatory restitution, including ownership of land and other means of production” (The Conversation). Reforming a society so constitutionally incapable of reckoning with its nature and history may well be more far-fetched than creating a brand-new city from the ground up.
Key Takeaways
Families are planning a new, pro-Black city called Freedom, GA.
The ability to build intergenerational wealth and safety has long been denied to Black families.
There is a rich history of Black liberation movements encompassing housing justice and land sovereignty.
RELATED ISSUES
2/22/2021 | Advocate for reparations.
1/17/2021 | Support Black farmers.
5/12/2021 | Reverse racist land grabs.
PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT
Thank you for all your financial contributions! If you haven't already, consider making a monthly donation to this work. These funds will help me operationalize this work for greatest impact.
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Advocate for fair housing appraisals.
Carlette Duffy, a Black homeowner in Indianapolis, received an unusually low appraisal value for her home. After reading reports of discrimination in home appraisals, she contacted a different company. This time, she was sure not to reveal her race or gender, keeping all communications to email. For the home visit, she removed all photos of herself and her family from her home, and asked her friend’s white husband to act as her brother. As a result, the appraisal of Carlette Duffy's home more than doubled, jumping from $125,000 to $259,000 (NBC News).
Happy Thursday! The frenzied housing market has made it more difficult for Millennials to achieve first-time home ownership (Business Insider). It's also emphasizing the racial disparities in the home ownership process. Today, we're revisiting our conversation on home appraisals with new data and stories from those impacted.
Thank you to everyone that gives a little when they can to keep this newsletter going! If you can, consider giving $7/month on Patreon. Or you can give one-time on our website or PayPal. You can also support us by joining our curated digital community. This newsletter will continue to be a free resource because of this collective support.
Nicole
TAKE ACTION
Follow these steps to report any unfair housing discrimination against you or someone you know. Use this website to help determine the best course of action by state.
Research to find a fair housing organization in your community to support.
Consider: How do inequitable housing appraisals affect the value of the homes in your neighborhood? How may it have affected the generational wealth of your family?
GET EDUCATED
By Nicole Cardoza (she/her)
Carlette Duffy, a Black homeowner in Indianapolis, received an unusually low appraisal value for her home. After reading reports of discrimination in home appraisals, she contacted a different company. This time, she was sure not to reveal her race or gender, keeping all communications to email. For the home visit, she removed all photos of herself and her family from her home, and asked her friend’s white husband to act as her brother. As a result, the appraisal of Carlette Duffy's home more than doubled, jumping from $125,000 to $259,000 (NBC News).
Last fall, Abena Horton shared a similar story about her home appraisal experience. Based on the market prices for their neighborhood in Jacksonville, FL, Horton and her partner expected an estimated $450,000 for their four-bedroom, four-bath ranch-style house. So, they were surprised to find the appraiser’s value of $330,000. According to her Facebook post that went viral, she organized a second appraisal – only after doing the following:
"We took down all family pictures containing Black relatives. We took down all pictures of African-American greats that we display to inspire our son. Zora Neale Hurston and Toni Morrison came down from the bookshelves; Shakespeare went up. My son and I took a convenient shopping trip during the appraisal, leaving my white male husband to show the appraiser around, alone."
The house was appraised for $465,000.
These are not isolated incidents; Black homeowners have shared countless stories of removing family photos or recruiting white friends to lead appraisals and home sales in hopes of getting a fairer price. In the NYTimes, comedian and actor D.L. Hughley shared that an appraisal he received was so low the bank flagged the report for inaccuracy (NYTimes).
Devaluing property owned by Black people is an institutionalized practice in the U.S. In the 1930s, as part of the New Deal, the federal government created a series of initiatives to incentivize homeownership (The Atlantic). As part, surveyors analyzed neighborhoods throughout the country to identify which were most deserving of support. They would color code regions: green for “best,” blue for “still desirable,” yellow for “definitely declining” and red for “hazardous. Areas outlined in red, or “redlined” areas, were neighborhoods with predominantly communities of color. Racial biases at the time saw these individuals as untrustworthy for lines of credit and their communities as unfavorable places to live. As a result, loans in redlined neighborhoods were extremely high or completely unavailable (Washington Post). From 1934 to 1962, “98% of the Federal Housing Administration Loans went to White Americans” (NBC Chicago). A 1943 brochure encouraged realtors to avoid undesirables such as “madams, bootleggers, gangsters—and ‘a colored man of means who was giving his children a college education and thought they were entitled to live among whites’” (The Atlantic).
These practices “ended” in 1968, when the Fair Housing Act banned racial discrimination in housing. But discriminatory practices are still happening today. These racial perspectives of the value of "redlined" neighborhoods, and homeowners of color, are reflected in how these homes are valued in today's time, with devastating impact.
A study from Brookings Institute puts this into perspective. Their research found that, on average, owner-occupied homes in Black neighborhoods are undervalued by $48,000, amounting to $156 billion in cumulative losses. Homes located where the population is 50% Black are considered half as valuable as communities with no Black residents. And these neighborhoods with greater devaluation are more likely to be segregated than others. They also produce less upward mobility for the Black children who grow up in those communities. This mobility is just a hint at the generational impact of this economic disparity and emphasizes why rebalancing this disparity is so essential. Read the full study over at Brookings’ website.
And this devalued property is ripe for gentrification, a topic we covered in an earlier newsletter. Many neighborhoods that are historically non-white will receive an influx of middle-class people, eager for accessible property prices. This is followed by a swift revaluation of the same property, forcing out existing community members or dissuading others from moving in (NPR).
And when economic justice meets social justice, more tensions arise, evident in the destruction of property during protests last summer. After a history of redlining and dispossession, Black people often live in communities where they don’t own any property. Lack of homeownership usually means a lack of local agency; landowners are often prioritized in policies made by local government, as they pay the property taxes that influence funding for local utilities. So when police brutality happens, Black people are not just outraged by the violence itself, but the lack of agency to drive political change. Conservatives will argue that communities are so willing to “destroy their own neighborhoods,” but who’s neighborhoods are they, really, if Black people can’t safely walk the streets to enjoy them?
This conversation is explored in-depth by Aaron Ross Coleman in an interview with Andre M. Perry, a fellow in the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, a scholar-in-residence at American University, and the author of Know Your Price: Valuing Black Lives and Property in America’s Black Cities.
“
As long as Black lives matter less than the property that they are surrounded by, you never provide incentives not to burn something down. So when people say, “Don’t burn down the goods, businesses, services in your local neighborhood.” They’re missing the point of why people are protesting. The very fact that you have to say that means that they — the property, the goods, the services, the businesses — are so undervalued that the people around them are not respected.”
Andre M. Perry for Vox
The appraisal industry is responsible for carrying these practices into the present day. The Appraisal Institute, the nation’s largest professional association of real estate appraisers, is working to increase representation and improving equitable conditions for homeowners (Forbes). Although accountability is necessary for shaping the industry, dismantling racism is necessary for reimagining the system – and creating a more equitable journey of homeownership for all.
Key Takeaways
Black homeowners routinely experience lower appraisal values than white homeowners.
The practice of “redlining” historically made homeownership incredibly difficult for non-white communities, and the discrimination from that time still persists.
Homeownership is important for building generational wealth and share of voice in local communities.
RELATED ISSUES
4/14/2021 | Decommodify housing.
7/20/2020 | Protect your community from the harm of gentrification.
PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT
Thank you for all your financial contributions! If you haven't already, consider making a monthly donation to this work. These funds will help me operationalize this work for greatest impact.
Subscribe on Patreon | Give one-time on PayPal | Venmo @nicoleacardoza
Learn about sundown towns.
Happy Tuesday! Today we're learning about sundown towns, which I always thought of as a part of our history until the Defund San Antonio Police Department Coalition referred to San Antonio as one, and released travel advisories for Black residents.
Renée takes us through the history of sundown towns, the danger of U.S. travel for Black residents, and offers insights for you to consider the next time you're planning a road trip. And be sure to check out the action items – I discovered that my own hometown was once a sundown town.
And thank you for your contributions! If you enjoy this newsletter, you can give one-time on our website, PayPal or Venmo (@nicoleacardoza), or subscribe for $5/mo on our Patreon.
– Nicole
TAKE ACTION
Use this map to see what towns near your hometown may have been sundown towns.
Support the GoFundMe campaign of two Black women aiming to make travel safer for Black travelers through a modern-day digital green book.
Consider: How does your community express itself as a welcoming space for people of color? How might it dissuade visitors and new residents?
GET EDUCATED
By Renée Cherez (she/her)
An American pastime has resurrected with international travel halted to break quarantine’s mundanity: the road trip. Part of the ‘American Dream’ appeal was the sense of freedom, especially in the imagery of road trips on an open highway.
Twentieth-century representation was loaded with white families’ on deserted highways in Chevy’s worry-free with bright smiles. Absent were Black families’ – as the open road was not a journey of good times but open racialized terrorism (NYTimes).
Though Black Americans were aware of the dangers of traveling by car, there was (and still is) a strong sense of freedom and control that automobile travel offered that trains and busses did not (NYTimes). While traveling by busses and trains in Jim Crow America, Black Americans were often subjected to a conductors’ watchful eye. They would have to defer to white passengers even when seated in the “Colored Cart.” This kind of harassment was relentless and what made the construction of a new highway appealing.
Route 66, or “The Mother Road,” one of the most famous U.S. highways, connected eight states beginning in Chicago linking to Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. Gaining popularity during the 1930s as people tried to escape the Dust Bowl, Black Americans also used Route 66 to flee racial violence in Jim Crow south. Unbeknownst to them, there was no escaping Jim Crow as institutionalized racism was embedded in every part of the country. A year before Route 66 construction began, the Chicago Tribune published an editorial warning Black Americans away from recreational facilities like swimming pools:
“We should be doing no service to the Negroes if we did not point out that to a very large section of the white population the presence of a Negro, however well behaved, among white bathers is an irritation. This may be a regrettable fact to the Negroes, but it is nevertheless a fact, and must be reckoned with … [T]he Negroes could make a definite contribution to good race relationship by remaining away from beaches where their presence is resented.”
Chicago Tribune editorial, published on August 29, 1925, via The Atlantic.
Because Route 66 covered over 2,000 miles, various businesses like restaurants, barbershops, gas stations, and motels were along the route, making it possible for travelers to stop for a night’s rest and food –except Black travelers. Of the eight states along the highway, 6 had official segregation laws, but all had unofficial rules about race (The Atlantic).
Victor Hugo Green, a postal worker from Harlem, New York, created The Negro Motorist Green Book. This travel guide listed motels, taverns, guesthouses, barbershops, beauty salons, restaurants, realtors, and department stores that were safe for Black Americans to patronize without harm. The book included listings for all parts of the country, but Route 66 was the most famous highway. Published from 1936-1966, the Green Book was considered the Bible of Black travel because it prevented the shame of being kicked out of restaurants and listed towns known as sundown towns (Smithsonian Magazine).
Sundown towns were white only communities where Black people were not allowed to stay “past sundown,” hence the term. Thousands of communities used local law enforcement to protect these spaces across the U.S. (Tougaloo). These communities were dangerous to Black travelers under any circumstance, but being seen after sunset was sure to warrant violence or death. Mostly created to prevent an influx of Black Americans (and Jews and Chinese) in white communities, sundown towns were and still are, symbols of violence (GEN). Black travelers often passed signs that read “Don’t Let the Sun Set on You Here, Understand?” and “Whites Only Within City Limits After Dark.” At its peak, there were an estimated 10,000 towns like these in 1970 (Tolerance.org).
A common practice among Black men with nice cars was to lie to police officers when asked if the vehicle they were driving was theirs. White vigilantes and police officers found it offensive if a Black man owned a fancier car than their own, or even interpreted it as a Black man trying to upstage him. If a Black man was stopped with his family, to protect them from violence, a chauffeur hat would be kept in the car and used as a decoy to avoid trouble (The Atlantic).
Misha Greens’ new series, Lovecraft Country, on HBO, is a powerful example of how horror coupled with America’s unique form of racism can not only be entertaining but illustrates the psychological warfare Black Americans are forced to endure daily. The series follows a young man Atticus, from Chicago, searching for his father in Ardham, Massachusetts.
Joining him on this road trip is his Uncle George (played by Courtney B. Vance) and childhood friend, Letitia (played by Jurnee Smollet). Playing off Mr. Green’s travel guidebook, Uncle George is creating a travel guide for Black travelers. Without sharing too much, all of the fear that sundown towns embody is perfectly depicted thus far.
From psychological violence by police officers, sundown town signage, and refusal of service in a restaurant, the horror of racism is real, and to consider it entertaining can feel wrong. The first two episodes alone show how mortifying, debilitating, and dehumanizing segregation, sundown towns, and Jim Crow were, and still are, today. Police officers and white vigilantes were used as agents against Black life. This is clear when we think about the hunting and murder of Ahmaud Arbery as he ran through his Brunswick, Georgia neighborhood, which may have very well been a sundown town.
It may be easy for white viewers of Lovecraft Country and those who’ve recently learned about The Negro Motorist Green Book to brush off the racial history both explore as ways of the past. However, we should remember that Black men are still being lynched in America in 2020.
If this year has shown us anything, its that we are far from a post-racial society. With racial injustices in full view, Black travelers are creating the necessary resources to keep other Black people safe both domestically and internationally (Travel + Leisure). White people who consider themselves allies should spend their privilege by sharing and amplifying these resources often to aid in the protection of Black travelers everywhere.
Key Takeaways
Sundown towns were white only and dangerous to Black travelers under any circumstance.
Lovecraft Country, on HBO, illustrates the psychological warfare Black Americans are forced to endure daily.
Black Americans still feel fear when traveling by car in America.
RELATED ISSUES
9/2/2020 | Rally for fair appraisals.
8/30/2020 | Protect housing rights during COVID-19.
7/20/2020 | Protect your community from the harm of gentrification.
7/12/2020 | Learn how air pollution exacerbates COVID-19.
PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT
Thank you for all your financial contributions! If you haven't already, consider making a monthly donation to this work. These funds will help me operationalize this work for greatest impact.
Subscribe on Patreon | Give one-time on PayPal | Venmo @nicoleacardoza
Rally for fair appraisals.
Happy Wednesday!
There is SO MUCH to write about. So much, in fact, that we could send ten emails a day and still not keep up with the news. But when I saw the story below, I knew I had to share the historical context, and how this discrimination robs communities of not just their generational wealth, but political wealth. Hopefully, it offers more context for what you see unfolding during the protests, and encourage you to analyze how damaging our racial biases can be.
As always, your contributions are so appreciated! You can give on our website, PayPal, or Venmo (@nicoleacardoza), or subscribe monthly on our Patreon.
ps – I'll never send ten emails a day, but I do send one each day without fail. And I hope you stick with it. If you'd prefer to get just one weekly recap (delivered on Saturdays) you can update your profile here.
TAKE ACTION
If you experience or hear of racial bias by appraisers, report them. Use this website to help determine the best course of action by state: https://refermyappraisalcomplaint.asc.gov/.
Subscribe to updates from one fair housing organization in your neighborhood or closest major city nearby.
Reflect: How has your racial bias influenced your perception of the value or worth of a property or location?
GET EDUCATED
It’s a story you may have seen on your newsfeeds this week: a couple in Jacksonville, Florida, wanted to take advantage of this season’s low home-refinance rates. They hired an appraiser to review their four-bedroom, four-bath ranch-style house. Based on the market prices for their neighborhood, they expected a number around $450,000. So, they were surprised to find the appraiser’s value of $330,000.
The owner, Abena Horton, who is Black, suspected racial bias played a part. So, according to her Facebook post that went viral, organized a second appraisal, but did the following:
"We took down all family pictures containing Black relatives. We took down all pictures of African-American greats that we display to inspire our son. Zora Neale Hurston and Toni Morrison came down from the bookshelves; Shakespeare went up. My son and I took a convenient shopping trip during the appraisal, leaving my white male husband to show the appraiser around, alone."
The house was appraised for $465,000.
As the post gained popularity and was covered by the NYTimes, more Black homeowners shared their stories. This wasn’t an isolated incident; many of these homeowners have removed family photos and had white friends stand-in during appraisals and home sales in hopes to get a fairer price. In the NYTimes, comedian, and actor D.L. Hughley shared that an appraisal he received was so low the bank flagged the report for inaccuracy (NYTimes).
Devaluing property owned by Black people, or preventing ownership at all, is a practice that goes back decades in America. Although there are several issues that have contributed to the lack of land ownership by Black people throughout history, one is particularly relevant to appraisals. In the 1930s, as part of the New Deal, the federal government created a series of initiatives to incentivize home ownership (The Atlantic). As part, surveyors analyzed neighborhoods thorughout the country to identify which were most deserving of support, color-coding them green for “best,” blue for “still desirable,” yellow for “definitely declining” and red for “hazardous. Areas outlined in red, or “redlined” areas, were neighborhoods with predominantly communities of color. Raical biases at the time saw these individuals as untrustworthy for lines of credit, and their communities as unsavorable places to live. As a result, loans in redlined neighborhoods were extremely high or completely unavaialble (Washington Post). From 1934 to 1962, “98% of the Federal Housing Administration Loans went to White Americans” (NBC Chicago). A 1943 brochure encouraged realtors to avoid undesirables such as “madams, bootleggers, gangsters—and ‘a colored man of means who was giving his children a college education and thought they were entitled to live among whites’” (The Atlantic).
These practices “ended” in 1968, when the Fair Housing Act banned racial discrimination in housing, but discriminatory practices are still happening today. These racial perspectives of the value of "redlined" neighborhoods, and homeowners of color, are reflected in how these homes are valued in today's time, with devastating impact.
A study from Brookings Institue puts this into perspective. Their research found that owner-occupied homes in Black neighborhoods are undervalued by $48,000 per home on average, amounting to $156 billion in cumulative losses. The homes in neighborhoods where the population is 50% Black are valued at roughly half the price as homes in communities with no Black residents. And these neighborhoods with greater devaluation are more likely to be segregated than others. They also produce less upward mobility for the Black children who grow up in those communities. This mobility is just a hint at the generational impact of this economic disparity and emphasizes why rebalancing this disparity is so important. Read the full study over at Brookings’ website.
And this devalued property is ripe for gentrification, a topic we covered in an earlier newsletter. Many neighborhoods that are historically non-white will receive an influx of middle-class people, eager for accessible property prices. This is followed by a swift revaluation of the same property, forcing out existing community members or dissuading others from moving in (NPR).
And when economic justice meets social justice, more tensions arise, evident in the destruction of property during protests this summer. After a history of redlining and dispossession, Black people often live in communities where they don’t own any of the property. Lack of homeownership usually means a lack of local agency; landowners are often prioritized in policies made by local government, as they pay the property taxes that influence funding for local utilities. So when police brutality happens, Black people are not just outraged by the violence itself, but the lack of agency to drive political change. Conservatives will argue that communities are so willing to “destroy their own neighborhoods,” but who’s neighborhoods are they, really, if Black people can’t safely walk the streets to enjoy them? This conversation is explored in-depth by Aaron Ross Coleman in an interview with Andre M. Perry, a fellow in the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, a scholar-in-residence at American University, and the author of Know Your Price: Valuing Black Lives and Property in America’s Black Cities, in Vox.
“As long as black lives matter less than the property that they are surrounded by, you never provide incentives not to burn something down. So when people say, “Don’t burn down the goods, businesses, services in your local neighborhood.” They’re missing the point of why people are protesting. The very fact that you have to say that means that they — the property, the goods, the services, the businesses — are so undervalued that the people around them are not respected.”
Andre M. Perry, a fellow, scholar-in-residence, and author, for Vox.
Housing wealth represents a significant amount of American wealth. In fact, homeowners' median net worth was 80 times larger than renters' median net worth in 2015 (Census.gov). And unsurprisingly, the gap between White and Black homeownership today is larger than it was when housing discrimination was legal (CNBC). And considering the added equity homeownership can bring to shaping neighborhoods as a whole, the right to fair homeownership is necessary to create a more equitable future for us all.
key takeaways
Black homeowners routinely experience lower appraisal values than white homeowners.
The practice of “redlining” historically made homeownership incredibly difficult for non-white communities, and the discrimination from that time still persists.
Homeownership is important for building generational wealth and share of voice in local communities.
RELATED ISSUES
PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT
Thank you for all your financial contributions! If you haven't already, consider making a monthly donation to this work. These funds will help me operationalize this work for greatest impact.
Subscribe on Patreon | Give one-time on PayPal | Venmo @nicoleacardoza