The Critical Race Theory and Housing
Inequalities existing in the present United States housing practices can be explained by the Critical Race Theory (CRT). The United States Fair Housing Act outlines the housing policy in the United States. The mandate of this policy is to ensure that fair housing is available throughout the United States. The Critical Race Theory argues that race is a social invention and that racism does not only arise from personal prejudices but is a phenomenon that is integrated into policies and legal systems. This perspective can be applied to show how the best regions were reserved for white communities while the nonwhites were left to live in environments that experience hazards at higher rates. White supremacy entails structuring society to facilitate the existence of social advantages that facilitate the domination and exploitation of people of color and other minority groups. Housing policies that are in place today are influenced by ideas informed by racial prejudice.
The disparities evident in different neighborhoods in terms of the level of security, the value of homes, quality of health services available and other indicators can be traced back to accumulated past economic advantages gained through racial oppression of the minority groups such as African and Native Americans. The gap in the ability to obtain a home between white-identified people and the colored minority is influenced by policies that were banned long ago which relied on the issuance of racial covenants stipulated in property deeds (Dwyer, 2007). Research has shown that housing policies in place are based on assumptions biased in favor of white-identified people and thus overlook the marginalization of other communities who as a result have less access to quality and affordable housing. These led to the observable effects that include the quantifiable racial inequality in home values that are observed to grow steadily. Critical race theory attempts to explain the origin of disparities that exist in ownership patterns between different racial divisions and argues that property ownership regulations are shaped by assumptions that provide advantages for whites at the expense of other racial groups
The United States Fair Housing Act outlines the housing policy in the United States and ensures that fair housing is available throughout the United States. This is interpreted to mean that providers of housing who include real estate companies, landlords, home insurance companies and banks are prohibited from discriminating against people intending to obtain housing based on their race among other social identifiers. Companies or entities that are found to have a pattern of discriminating persons can be prosecuted and tried for these criminal practices (The United States Department of Justice, 2021). The Fair Housing Act was enacted in 1968 and since then its interpretation is being continually broadened to counter housing providers who still find ways to disguise their discrimination. The civil rights movement have made a significant impact on policies that guide housing practices. However, much remains to be done to curb the prevalent inequality in housing across the nation. This regulation applies to builders, architects, owners and all people who are involved in various housing projects if the buildings they provide fail to meet the stipulated design requirements.
The Critical Race Theory argues that race is a social construction and that racism does not only arise from personal prejudices but is a phenomenon that is integrated into policies and legal systems. The theory advances that race is not a biological but a social phenomenon invented to be a tool for oppressing people of color. The theory criticizes the laws of the United States as being inherently racist because they play a significant role in sustaining the socio-economic and political inequalities between the different races in America in favor of the whites over nonwhites (Britannica, 2021). Its precursor the Critical Legal Studies that investigated ways in which the legal system favors the wealthy existed in the 1960s and ‘70s and lay the groundwork for its unveiling in 1989. This theory attempts to show how various social structures such as racism influence the laws and other social determinants to serve the interest of the whites. This theory was part of Derrick Bell, Richard Delgado, and others responses to government-endorsed discrimination of people based on the racial background that happened in the 1930s where officials designated some areas to be financial risks and not worthy of government funding because the dwellers in those areas were deemed to of inferior race.
White supremacy entails structuring society to facilitate the existence of social advantages that facilitate the domination and exploitation of people of color and other minority groups. The traditional understanding of the concept of white supremacy is challenged by Gillborn (2005) who asserts that the phenomenon is more subtle and is not limited to Nazi-era claims of intellectual and cultural superiority (Gillborn, 2005). Instead, most social structures such as education, political parties, the health system all imperceptibly have inbuilt tendencies to strengthen the grasp that whites have on sources of power in consumerist societies. As a result of these policies, inequality continues to grow steadily and social tensions keep on rising over time. However Gillborn (2005) and the Critical Race Theory critique the attempts to interpret the current laws to be independent of the events of history. This trend is mainly attributed to the idea that the changes introduced to minimize the effects of racial discrimination are a result of a series of patches to the various policies in response to protests and outcries from the oppressed minorities and not the fruit of a comprehensive plan to ensure fairness to all.
Housing policies that are in place today are influenced by ideas informed by racial prejudice. The disparities evident in different neighborhoods in terms of the level of security, the value of homes, quality of health services available and other indicators can be traced back to accumulated past economic advantages gained through racial oppression of the minority groups such as African and Native Americans. Therefore barriers are in place to prevent social and spatial mobility and these, in turn, affect housing accessibility for people who are considered racially inferior (Smelser, Wilson & Mitchell, 2001). Policies and regulations continue to legitimize the trend perpetuating a system of values where white norms and values are seen to be superior to those of other categorizations. This view is further reinforced by the observable patterns of settlement where different housing neighborhoods are clustered together and populated by members of the white and non-white communities who come to see these places as their rightful territories that should be defended from intrusion. Attempts to integrate into different neighborhoods are resisted and individuals who attempt to overcome this resistance are exposed to various social pressures which in turn generates further tension between the racial divides.
The gap in the ability to obtain a home between white-identified people and the colored minority is influenced by policies that were banned long ago which relied on the issuance of racial covenants stipulated in property deeds. Restrictive covenants have historically determined where people live. For example in the city of Seattle policymakers adopted deed restrictions to keep out persons considered as of inferior races from occupying certain areas that were reserved for whites. One of the most significant impacts of this practice is that it led to a disparity in the level of investments available to the different neighborhoods (Kollmann, Marsiglio & Suardi, 2018). These covenants’ impact still lingers in Seattle and other due to the continuance of the traditional practice of racial segregation (Silva, 2011). Different cities in America have demographics that reflect the history of the country highly controverted racial debate and continue to impact the average American’s access to equitable housing facilities.
Research has shown that housing policies in place are based on assumptions biased in favor of white-identified people and thus overlook the marginalization of other communities who as a result have less access to quality and affordable housing. Pager and Shepherd (2008) were astounded by the high levels of discrimination that was reported. The specific cases entailed discrimination from job opportunities, access to housing facilities and various economic or social resources. People who come from non-white communities have been understood to face difficulties while undertaking housing searches or applying for home insurance and home mortgages (Pager & Shepherd, 2008). The frequency of complaints filed with the Fair Housing Bureaus can provide a glimpse of the extent of discrimination that is prevalent under the current housing legislation. Despite the reforms that have been implemented in housing regulations, discrimination in property ownership is still prevalent in America.
Critical race theory attempts to explain the origin of disparities that exist in ownership patterns between different racial divisions and argues that property ownership regulations are shaped by assumptions that provide advantages for whites at the expense of other racial groups. Whites have historically consolidated their power over resources such as land, housing, education and industrial property and have used their influence to shape policies in their favor. Housing policies in existence fail to ameliorate the inequalities in existence and instead serve to provide a semblance of fairness while failing to meet the objectives of their formulation (George, 2021). Critical race theory explains this phenomenon and calls for a comprehensive reexamination of society’s rules and regulations to safeguard the impartiality of the law. The assumptions that the various regulations are based on should be challenged and replaced with more realistic ones for inequality in housing to be replaced by equitable access for all.
Segregations policies in which the best resources were reserved for white-identified people created a gap in terms of the influence and the ability of non-whites to obtain property in certain neighborhoods that help perpetuate housing and other social-economic inequalities. The Fair Housing Act was enacted in 1968 and since then its interpretation is being continually broadened to counter housing providers who still find ways to disguise their discrimination (Thomas, Moye, Henderson & Horton, 2017). This regulation applies to builders, architects, owners and all people who are involved in various housing projects if the buildings they provide fail to meet the stipulated design requirements. The Critical Race Theory attempts to show how various social structures such as racism influence the laws and other social determinants to serve the interest of the whites. As a result of these policies, inequality continues to grow steadily and social tensions keep on rising with time.
This trend is mainly attributed to the idea that the changes introduced to minimize the effects of racial discrimination are a result of a series of patches to the various policies in response to protests and outcries from the oppressed minorities and not the fruit of a comprehensive plan to ensure fairness to all. Policies and regulations continue to legitimize the trend perpetuating a system of values where white norms and values are seen to be superior to those of other categorizations. This view is further reinforced by the observable patterns of settlement where different housing neighborhoods are clustered together and populated by members of the white and non-white communities who come to see these places as their rightful territories that should be defended from intrusion. The frequency of complaints filed with the Fair Housing Bureaus can provide a glimpse of the extent of discrimination that is prevalent under the current housing legislation. Despite the reforms that have been implemented in housing regulations, discrimination in property ownership is still prevalent in America. The assumptions that the various regulations are based on should be challenged and replaced with more realistic ones for inequality in housing to be replaced by equitable access for all.
References
Britannica. (2021, June 16). Critical race theory. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/critical-race-theory
Dwyer, R. E. (2007). Expanding Homes and Increasing Inequalities: U.S. Housing Development and the Residential Segregation of the Affluent. Social Problems, 54(1), 23-46. doi:10.1525/sp.2007.54.1.23
George, J. (2021). A Lesson on Critical Race Theory. Retrieved from https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/civil-rights-reimagining-policing/a-lesson-on-critical-race-theory/
Gillborn, D. (2005). Education policy as an act of white supremacy: Whiteness, critical race theory and education reform. Journal of Education Policy, 20(4), 485-505. doi:10.1080/02680930500132346
Kollmann, T., Marsiglio, S., & Suardi, S. (2018). Racial segregation in the United States since the Great Depression: A dynamic segregation approach. Journal of Housing Economics, 40, 95-116. doi:10.1016/j.jhe.2018.03.004
Pager, D., & Shepherd, H. (2008). The Sociology of Discrimination: Racial Discrimination in Employment, Housing, Credit, and Consumer Markets. Annual Review of Sociology, 34(1), 181-209. doi:10.1146/annurev.soc.33.040406.131740
Silva, C. (2011). Racial Restrictive Covenants History. Retrieved from https://depts.washington.edu/civilr/covenants_report.htm
Smelser, N. J., Wilson, W. J., & Mitchell, F. (2001). America Becoming Racial Trends and Their Consequences. Volume I. Retrieved from https://www.nap.edu/read/9599/chapter/14
The United States Department of Justice. (2021, June 16). The Fair Housing Act. Retrieved from https://www.justice.gov/crt/fair-housing-act-1
Thomas, M. E., Moye, R., Henderson, L., & Horton, H. D. (2017). Separate and Unequal: The Impact of Socioeconomic Status, Segregation, and the Great Recession on Racial Disparities in Housing Values. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, 4(2), 229-244. doi:10.1177/2332649217711457
