George Floyd was just one of countless black people to be killed by law enforcement officers. And most gut wrenchingly, there were two other black men killed by officers while pleading for their lives, crying out “I can’t breathe” in recent years (Their names were Eric Garner and Manual Ellis).
The institutional, systemic, pervasive racism that causes black men, women, and children in this country to have poorer health, educational, and economic outcomes, shorter life expectancies, lower self-reported levels of happiness, and to fear the uniformed people who are supposed to protect us is sickening and unacceptable. And this institutional racism legitimizes and protects the racism and racist conduct of private individuals.
Generation Housing stands with the black community in demanding an end to police brutality and all forms of institutional racism.
Black lives matter.
Speaking out is just a start. Black communities in this country have suffered and continue to suffer from our country’s housing policies and practices. Redlining, exclusionary zoning, blockbusting, and racist lending practices were in large part responsible for and continue to sustain white privilege and widen wealth disparities and racial inequities. In Sonoma County, our black community suffers disproportionately from housing scarcity and affordability. Black people have the lowest rate of homeownership in the County and the highest rate of people paying more than a third of their income on housing.
Generation Housing is determined to improve these grim statistics. We have work to do.
We encourage you to both speak out and take action whenever and however you can.
Learn: Read Richard Rothstein’s book, The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America; hear Rothstein on Fresh Air; or read Matthew Desmond’s book, Evicted.
Donate: Consider donations to Campaign Zero; Black Lives Matter; Project Bailout and put your $ where your values are.