Representatives from the Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago and City Year representatives talked about MLK’s impact on the fair housing movement
CHICAGO On Monday, we’ll honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The civil rights leader may be best known for his work in the South.
But for a time in 1966, he and his family were in Chicago, living on the West Side.
While in the city, King led a fair housing effort.
Anthony E. Simpkins is the president and CEO of Neighborhood Housing Services Chicago. He previously worked for the Leadership Council For Metropolitan Open Communities, the Chicago fair housing organization founded by King. He said some things haven’t changed.
“The Black ownership rate in the United States today is at about 40%. It’s the same as it was in 1968 when the Fair Housing Act was passed. That’s compared to an average home ownership rate of about 75% for U.S. white households and about 50% for Hispanic households. You know, in 1977, Congress passed the Community Reinvestment Act, or the CRA, which required banks to lend in disinvested low and moderate income communities including Black and Latino communities.
