Housing and Partnership Culture

Fair housing reports from 2010, shows that, despite the label of 'fair', facts and figures report a status quo of economic opportunity and racial discrimination. A strategic partnership culture might allow housing policy to espouse solutions which address economic disparity. "African Americans are twice as likely to be unemployed as whites (Hispanics are only marginally so), and the wages of both blacks and Hispanics continue to lag well behind those of white." reported in The Sociology of Discrimination: Racial Discrimination in Employment, Housing, Credit, and Consumer Markets. by Deva Pager and Hana Shepard. Is this acceptable in a culture of reciprocity?

This report sponsored by the National Institute of Health claims, "failure of landlords to provide adequate maintenance for housing units, to harassment or physical threats by managers or neighbors, and to the unequal enforcement of a residential association's rules". This 2010 report further
concludes the subtle contemporary pattern of discrimination, which then explains social and economic inequality. Economic patterns such as "dual-mortgage market" in which prime lending is given to higher income and white areas; while sub-prime and predatory lending is concentrated in
lower-income and minority communities. The culture of place and specific community action is necessary to end this cyclic discrimination. Perhaps, minority groups must forgive and forget because everyone likes money, everyone likes freedom. Is this the persistent subtext which feeds an
internalized racism?

National fair housing policies must address the patterns of discrimination and disparity that persist. The Urban Institute's "Housing Discrimination Against Racial and Ethnic Minorities 2012" explains the subtle forms of discrimination that raise the costs of housing searches for minorities, and restrict their housing options. Any change in policy must include representatives of every group. This is creates partnership. The culture of belonging pr-exists partnership without discrimination. Why can we not belong to where we are?

Housing agreements must end the systemic reliance on hierarchy. Bell Hooks, an academic who promotes ending domination, introduces The Patriarchal Capitalist Hierarchy at work in urban development planning, and within the social history of our culture. At times, she provokes with more inflammatory adjectives; imperialist, and white supremacist. Perhaps, true but also inflammatory. She is braver than most. The growing sentiment concerned with culture places value on the 'how we got here'. Partnership culture is emphasized by social justice initiatives like immigration, and gender equity. The beginnings of change, in a marginalized society, ignite when the exposed truth of how we got here is revealed. Indigenous knowledge emphasizes solving race problems by looking at what we know is happening. We know economic mobility is not possible without basic human rights like fair housing.

"Even without any willful intent, policies can play an active role in designating the beneficiaries and
victims of a particular system of resource allocation, with important implications for enduring racial
inequalities." Hooks writes.

The phenomena of how minorities have internalized racism is a barrier to fair housing reform. Hooks discussion details how in seeking homogenous groups/communities, minorities are not combating their victimization. The argument for integration and inclusion sets up the possiblity of change. A clear and precise discussion about basic human rights must not be ignored or left to the 'nice white people' to dismiss.

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