Community Perspective: Affordable Housing is a Problem in America

By Cheryl Smith
Publisher
I Messenger Media

In 2020, prior to the last presidential election, former Vice President Joe Biden met with publishers of Black-owned newspapers to discuss affordable housing.  

Many pundits and political analysts said Biden needed the Black vote in order to win in November so he had to send a strong message to this loyal voting base, Black Democrats; and the Black Press was a great vehicle to use.

Leaving the meeting, after making a commitment that was very popular with African Americans, the man who would become the 46th president told publishers his administration would: address housing discrimination; invest $640 billion over a decade for affordable housing; dismantle redlining; and, create opportunities for first-time homebuyers.

Biden’s efforts helped garner him the endorsement of U.S. Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC); which breathed life into a campaign that seemed to be plummeting.

Three years later, homelessness and affordable housing remain a priority for organizations such as the National Urban League, LULAC, Rainbow PUSH Coalition, and the NAACP. 

Speaking before Black elected officials in Dallas recently at Paul Quinn College, Bishop T.D. Jakes said there was a lack of affordable housing and homelessness continues to also be an issue, as well as the economic divide. He urged those in attendance to work together to bring about change.

But what does change look like?

For many, funds used for affordable housing would benefit the haves and further disenfranchise the have-nots.

According to Bryan Tony of the Dallas Housing Coalition, the textbook definition of affordable housing equates to spending no more than 30% of your monthly income on rent or a mortgage.

While some view conversations about building affordable housing as an opportunity to rejuvenate and revitalize communities, others aren’t viewing it from the same lens.

For the Jones family, affordable housing is a joke.  Mrs. Jones believes affordable housing can be interpreted as, “get ready for gentrification,“ and that word is a dirty one for people living in many urban communities.

The “gentrified” communities, she said, are the ones that became available to families, like hers, when “White Flight” opened up certain neighborhoods for people of color. 

“My family was the first to move into that Oak Cliff neighborhood,” said Mrs. Jones, adding that although they didn’t deal with the burning of crosses on their front lawn nor were they greeted by a welcoming committee, however, almost immediately they did begin seeing “For Sale” signs on the neighbor’s lawns.

White families moved to the suburbs and away from Blacks.  Yes, there were negative connotations of such moves then and they are still visible and voiced today.  

Her family benefited from “White Flight” and now 50 years later, the idea of the city coming with resources for Mrs. Jones’s community for “revitalization” is laughable, she said because in the past half of a century, little has been done to maintain or build on that same area.

Mrs. Jones asks reasonable questions, like about efforts to provide more affordable housing because she knows Dallas.  

She knows that there are areas of the City that were left to decay, code enforcement was not a priority, and and are crime-ridden, but now under the guise of providing affordable housing, you have developers building homes in the $300-500K range, right around the corner from habitats where the median household income for a family of four is less than $40,000.

It’s clear to see why Mrs. Jones believes that affordable housing is a joke?

Someone really is laughing straight to the bank.  Others are not finding anything funny as they grapple with property taxes and valuations beyond their ability to maintain.

You have to wonder about a society that would rather watch things erode before “finding” options to revive.

Wouldn’t it be great to live in a country where everyone can have a quality of life that provides safe, beautiful, affordable, living spaces where there are no food or internet deserts,  streets are maintained, parks and recreation centers are operable, schools are highly ranked and police officers regularly patrol?

Cheryl Smith, Publisher of I Messenger News Group, which includes Texas Metro News, Garland Journal, I Messenger.

SOLUTIONS JOURNALISM:  Texas Metro News team members have participated in listening sessions, worked on several stories dealing with societal ills like housing and poverty, and collaborated with others to report on those who are working to make a difference. Thanks to the generous support of the Dallas Media Collaborative - launched by the Solutions Journalism Network with funding from the Knight Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, American Press Institute, Fund for Equity in Local News, Google News Initiative, NNPA, and the Don’t Believe the Hype Foundation; we’re sharing what we’ve learned.

Courtesy of the Dallas Media Collaborative, a collaborative reporting project focused on solutions to the affordable housing crisis in Dallas. Dallas Documents is part of the Dallas Media Collaborative, launched by the Solutions Journalism Network with funding from the Knight Foundation. Find out more at dallasmediacollab.com.