SEGREGATION NEVER REALLY ENDED - THE LINK BETWEEN HOUSING AND EDUCATION

This article by education scholar Richard Rothstein highlights that, in order to truly combat unequal education, we need to change housing policy.   More specifically, Rothstein makes the case that social and economic disadvantages must be addressed by not only examining the link between housing and education, but also by taking action to rectify the de jure residential segregation "resulting from racially-motivated public policy..." that has created a racially segregated public school system throughout the United States. In sum, the article reveals why efforts (such as those taken up by ERASE Racism) to create racially integrated neighborhoods and schools are fulfilling an obligation we must execute in order to rectify the wrongs of the past.

Read the full article here. 

STILL DOING THE WORK

ERASE Racism is continually addressing discriminatory practices in all levels of public policy through research-based education, legislative advocacy, and the type of grassroots coordination that will be a key focus of our Long Island Organizer's work. It is the same approach used by those involved in Freedom Summer and the movements leading to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The impact of Freedom Summer and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is still a powerful marker for change. However, there is still work to be done: 

• The black unemployment rate is still twice as high as the white rate.

• Schools are resegregating..

• Seventy to eighty percent of black and Latino children are attending segregated schools.  

• Racial profiling is still prevalent across America.

• In 2013, the Supreme Court mutilated the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and, as a result, it is harder for black people to vote.  

• 1 out of every 13 black people cannot vote due to criminal disenfranchisement laws; in Florida, Kentucky, and Virginia it is 1 out of every 5 who are barred from the polls.  

• Black men are imprisoned at much higher rates than white men... which affects their voting rights.  

• Black and Hispanic defendants are more likely to be held in jail before trial and more likely to be offered plea bargains that include a prison sentence than whites and Asians charged with the same crimes.

• America still remains highly segregated by race, especially on Long Island.

• Ninety percent of suburban whites live in places that are less than 1% black 

• Racial steering, the practice in which real estate brokers guide prospective home buyers towards or away from certain neighborhoods based on their race, is still widely practiced despite being outlawed since 1968.

Much of the work to be done is carried out on the local level as volunteers and community organizers give their time, energy, and financial support to organizations, like ERASE Racism that are working to combat the injustices like those listed above.

DONOR SPOTLIGHT:

GREAT NECK NORTH HIGH SCHOOL MULTICULTURAL CLUB

The Great Neck North High School Multicultural Club (posing with faculty advisor Ms. Susanne Marcus) unanimously voted to support ERASE Racism and sent a generous financial donation of $200 to our office. The members of the club stated "...this is because the work you do right here on Long Island fits in very well with our mission of working to ensure equality and open communication amongst those who are different from one another, and dispelling myths about our diverse community." We are extremely grateful to the students in the Great Neck North High School Multicultural Club and wish them continued success in their endeavors.

If you would like to support the work done by ERASE Racism please click the button below.

  

 FAIR HOUSING UPDATES:

The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Poverty & Race Research Action Council and the[EG1]  NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund sent a letter to Jim Johnson, the court-required monitor overseeing the Westchester Fair Housing settlement, asking him to expand his analysis of zoning in Westchester, arguing that his methodology is inconsistent with fair housing law.

Read the full transcript of the letter that was sent.

DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT

ENERGIZES HUNTINGTON PUSH

FOR AFFORDABLE RENTALS

The Huntington Township Housing Coalition, an affordable housing advocacy group, is looking to dispel myths that homeowners may have regarding building affordable housing units in their communities. "The effort is to inform homeowners that the future of their property values and the future of the integrity of their families depends on having affordable rentals on Long Island."

 FISHER CHALLENGE ON RACE

REJECTED... AGAIN