RACE / RACISM
Black Homeowners’ Resilience Against Racism and the First Oral History of Black Twitter
Catch up on the stories of Blackness you might have missed
There’s no overarching theme to this week’s collection of race and racism news. But like every week, it provides examples of Black people persisting and fighting against a world that’s trying to crush them — whether it’s a homeowner trying to preserve a piece of the American dream, Haitian groups exercising self-determination to rebuild after a devastating earthquake, or ordinary folks using social media to set the cultural agenda.
Racism in real estate
The New York Times Real Estate section recently published a trio of stories about the difficulties faced by Black homeowners, and the determination it takes for them to stay in their homes. For example — did you know that deeds for houses across the country still contain (now unenforceable) clauses that prohibit the property from being sold to Black people and other marginalized groups? So-called racial covenants are illegal, but removing them from the house’s paperwork can take money and time that homeowners don’t always have. The Times reports that some states are trying to make it easier to take out the racist language, though.
