I remember growing up constantly moving from one house to another, wondering why I always had to be in a situation where I couldn’t build roots or build a community. My friends were lost; my sense of community was faint; the idea of creating a home with a perfect white fence and an environmentally friendly neighborhood was nonexistent. I began to experience limited access to quality parks or clean streets, or a local grocery store within a five-block radius. Why was this, and what factors play into this, I would constantly think? Finally, I was made aware that it wasn’t necessarily my family or me but the color of our skin, which history has played against to form a racial bias. That subjugates African Americans to lower socioeconomic classes and lower-opportunity neighborhoods that are still where African Americans are relegated to today.

 I was a prime example of discrimination, being denied access to certain areas and discriminated against by landlords for being on section 8, a form of a housing voucher, or just being black in America. It didn’t seem to be appropriate within the housing system. The Funny thing is, America preaches, and I feel like we all carry this expectation, but we don’t all necessarily know the discrimination that makes this impossible. Why do families have to wonder if they will get that home? When they finally buy a home, why do they have to stay in areas regularly exposed to environmental toxins and have limited access to quality care services, nutritional foods, and economic opportunities? These are all questions that policymakers can very quickly answer. Still, for some reason, society doesn’t deem it appropriate to recognize the idea of neighborhoods being subjugated to fewer opportunities, less nutritional foods, having higher death rates, more health conditions, and a general lack of social support. Worse, there is no opportunity for building that generational wealth that seems to be ignored or pushed aside.

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