Black resistance to ignorance

Each year the Association for the Study of African American Life and History sets a theme for Black History Month. This year the theme is Black Resistance. It is appropriate for a time such as this because it reflects the work we must do in a climate where there has been active retrenchment of our rights. The 2022 elections reminded us that voter suppression efforts continue to erode our voting rights. The reduction of our voting rights is taking place as we prepare for the 2024 election.

Already the far rights and their allies are attempting to steal the 2024 election by sidelining as many voters as possible. This will pressure our voting rights organization, and I know they are equal to the task. Their work to prepare for 2024 is the epitome of Black resistance. In the academic realm, 36 states have passed laws restricting what can be taught in classrooms. These laws are specious and ignorant. Some say teachers can’t teach “critical race theory,” although no one attempts to introduce a higher-level legal concept to

K-12 students. Others vaguely say nothing can be taught to make students “feel uncomfortable” about their origins.

Enslavement was uncomfortable. Lynching was uncomfortable. Undoubtedly, Tyre Nichols felt “uncomfortable” when beasts with badges beat him to death over a traffic stop. What many people do not know about American history is bound to make them uncomfortable. But as my grandma used to say,

“Ignorance is bliss.” We in academia must use our resistance to repel these malicious efforts. It is past time for us to ensure that our collective history is reflective of reality.

Nobody wants anybody to “feel bad.” Instead, we want to take the truth and build on it. There is so much to resist that we must also resist the urge to become “too tired” to fight back. I’m ashamed to say that, years ago, I said that I was tired of marching.

Wrong! We can never be too tired to march, protest, or stand up for what is right. I am profoundly grateful to the folks in Black Lives Matter who show up and show out in the face of injustice. In Los Angeles, they show up regularly to resist the anti-Blackness that riddles this city. In Washington, D.C., people show up to protest land-use decisions that push poor and moderate-income people out of the city. In Memphis, Tenn., folks are showing up to protest the murder of Tyre Nichols.

They are resisting, as we all must. Self-care is also a form of resistance. While we can never be “too tired” to resist, the wise among us will know when it is time to take a break. A leaky vessel can’t carry anybody’s water. When we are broken, we can’t heal anyone, much less our community. When we are healthy and whole, we are effective warriors. When we are not, we must ask ourselves if we are bringing our best selves to the struggle.

Nearly 150 years ago, at the end of Reconstruction, AfricanAmericans faced resistance to our post-enslavement gains. Black Codes and Jim Crow laws were passed. Vagrancy laws were passed. Those AfricanAmericans who had attained some wealth and status, including elective office, found themselves under attack. In that context, people such as Ida B. Wells began to document lynchings to ensure that we all knew about the many attacks we were facing.

This present period is remi-

Economic inequality places most risk for eviction on Black people, poor

For the first time in more than two decades of research, every state now has renters who are nearing a financial breaking point in housing affordability. New research released by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS), and Moody’s Analytics independently reach the same conclusion: Consumers are struggling with a growing percentage of their incomes going toward keeping a roof over their heads.

On Jan. 19, Moody’s released its update on rental affordability, and concluded that “Rising mortgage rates caused many households to be priced out from home buying and would-be buyers to remain renters. Apartment demand surged as a result and drove rates sky high. As the disparity between rent growth and income growth widens, Americans’ wallets feel financial distress as wage growth trails rent growth.”

Days later on Jan. 25, Harvard’s JCHS went a step further by factoring race and poverty into its analysis.

“Renters living in communities of color, and in high-poverty, lower-income, and lower-rent neighborhoods were more likely to experience financial distress. More than three-fifths of renters behind on their housing payments lived in communities of color, while about twofifths lived in high-poverty or lower-income neighborhoods,” concluded JCHS.

There was a time when a single, full-time income could financially provide for families. But today, most families are working harder than ever and still need at least two incomes to make financial ends meet. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, in 2022, there was no county, metro area, or state where a person earning the federal or prevailing state or local minimum wage for a 40-hour work week could afford a modest two-bedroom rental home.

Although the U.S. Census Bureau finds that the nation’s median income in 2021 was $70,784, that same figure for Black America was only $48,297. This $30K income difference is further examined by a Federal Reserve Bank wealth inequality update. On average, according to the St. Louis Federal Reserve, Black and Hispanic families owned about 25 cents and 23 cents, respectively, per $1 of white family wealth. These substantial gaps remain largely unchanged despite fluctuations from 1989 to 2022.

In response to these and other issues, a report by the White House Domestic Policy Council and National Economic Council recently issued the White House Blueprint for a Renter’s Bill of Rights to promote fairness for Americans living in rental housing. The document calls for safe, and affordable housing, clear and fair leases and eviction prevention, diversion and relief, among other measures.

“Over 44 million households, or roughly 35 percent of the

U.S. population, live in rental housing,” states the plan. “And while federal laws such as the Fair Housing Act, the American with Disabilities Act, the Violence Against Women Act, and Fair Credit Reporting Act offer renters certain focused protections, there is no comprehensive set of federal laws protecting renters. Instead, our nation’s rental market is defined by a patchwork of state and local laws and legal processes that renters and rental housing providers must navigate.”

However well-intentioned, the newly released principles lack authority to require implementation. But the Department of Housing and Urban Development has embraced the effort by allocating $20 million for its Eviction Protection Grant Program, which will fund nonprofits and government agencies to provide legal assistance to low-income tenants at risk of eviction. The agency also will move toward requiring certain rental property owners to provide at least 30 days’ notice if they plan to terminate the lease of a tenant due to nonpayment of rent.

After more than 50 years since enactment of federal laws to ensure fair housing, equal employment, equal credit, and more, a lack of consistent enforcement of these laws have allowed backtracking on hard-fought victories. A litany of bad behaviors by unscrupulous landlords will continue to ignore laws unless aggressive and consistent enforcement makes it clear that proportionate prices will be paid.

The writer is a senior fellow with the Center for Responsible Lending.

The Free Press welcomes letters niscent of the post-Reconstruction era when obstacles were created to prevent further progress in the face of Black gains. It is no accident that the presidency of Barack Obama was followed by retrenchment in the subsequent presidency of the Orange Man, and Vice President Harris has been attacked in both racist and sexist terms. White resistance to Black progress must be met by Black resistance to ignorance.

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That is our challenge this Black History Month. Our resistance must be structural, but it must also be personal. We must make decisions about how we resist, but we must resist.

“Power concedes nothing without a demand,” said Frederick Douglass. What are you demanding, and how far will you go to ensure that our collective social and economic justice demands are met?

The writer is an economist, author and dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at Cal State LA.

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