Philadelphia, PA – City Council President Darrell L. Clarke (5th District) today issued the following statement in response to comments made by President Trump and actions taken by his administration to weaken federal fair housing mandates:
“In 2020, as our country faces a looming mortgage and eviction crisis fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic and as we grapple with the effects of decades of discriminatory housing practices, it is extremely disappointing to see the President and his allies continue to dismantle the federal safeguards in place for fair housing.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s actions to weaken enforcement of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule, paired with the President’s comments on Twitter about affordable housing being “forced into” neighborhoods, are shameful vestiges of this country’s history of redlining and other segregationist housing practices. They have no place in policy discussions in 2020.
As a lifelong proponent of fair, affordable housing for all, I’m asking my colleagues at the federal, state and local level to join me in condemning the President’s divisive actions and comments on housing. We must push back against the “us versus them” mentality the President promotes that only some Americans are deserving of a so-called “Lifestyle Dream” and that to achieve this, others must be excluded. We must acknowledge today, as our leaders did with the passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1968, that our systems are not yet fair and that people of color continue to face tremendous biases in securing a fundamental right: a safe home for their families.”
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