1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

As a resident of an oil-producing, industrial city where communities of color have long been forced to endure the brunt of the associated harms (yes, I'm talking about Los Angeles), I'm writing about HUD's decision to drop seven major housing discrimination cases. It's a significant setback for civil rights protections. These cases involve serious allegations of state and local governments discriminating against BIPOC by placing polluting industrial facilities and low-income housing disproportionately in minority neighborhoods while steering them away from white areas. Places like Chicago, Memphis, Cincinnati, Corpus Christi, and Flint will continue facing the harms of having industrial plants and unwanted facilities clustered in minority communities without accountability. The decision disregards evidence of wrongdoing and dismisses the very mission of HUD to promote fair housing. It is imperative that Congress use its oversight authority to demand answers from HUD leadership on this abrupt policy reversal. Housing segregation has generational impacts on health, education, employment and generational wealth in minority communities. Lack of enforcement entrenches systemic racism. As a co-equal branch of government, Congress has a duty to defend civil rights when the executive branch will not. Fair housing laws exist to dismantle institutionalized discrimination - Congress must compel HUD to uphold those laws. The very concept of fairness, and hard-fought-for civil rights, depend on it.