Promoting racial justice in housing
As the country’s affordable housing crisis intensifies and exacerbates racial wealth gaps, the Boston College Forum on Racial Justice in America has convened a group of experts to address this timely and important topic at a November 15 panel discussion.
“Promoting Racial Justice in Housing,” which runs from 6-8 p.m. in the Heights Room of Corcoran Commons, will be moderated by Forum Co-Directors Joy Moore, vice president and executive director of the Pine Manor Institute for Student Success at Boston College, and Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences Dean Gregory Kalscheur, S.J.
“The history of racial injustice in housing in America is part of a larger crisis of affordable and inequitable housing affecting all Americans. We have much to learn from our distinguished panelists about the historical causes of the current reality, the roles played by various actors in the housing production, finance, and policy systems, and the hope for progress that can be found in current efforts to remedy past injustices.”
Co-sponsored by the Joseph E. Corcoran Center for Real Estate and Urban Action, the event will bring together prominent leaders in law, housing, government, and business to discuss what they see as the critical issues related to racial equity in housing today, and what steps would need to be taken to address them.
“The history of racial injustice in housing in America is part of a larger crisis of affordable and inequitable housing affecting all Americans,” said Fr. Kalscheur. “We have much to learn from our distinguished panelists about the historical causes of the current reality, the roles played by various actors in the housing production, finance, and policy systems, and the hope for progress that can be found in current efforts to remedy past injustices. I am looking forward to a rich conversation about this critically important topic.”
Topics to be addressed include: what racial injustice in the United States housing system looks like; the history and causes of racial justice in the United States housing system; and what steps could lead toward a more racially just housing system. Other issues include the role of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as the housing production and finance systems.
““We have a dynamic panel with years of experience in expanding the fair housing space...We are looking forward to the Ď㽶Đă community coming together to learn from four women leaders who are on the ground making change happen.””
Ď㽶Đă Law School Professor Lisa T. Alexander—whose scholarship focuses on U.S. housing law and policy, and the law’s role in making housing markets more efficient and equitable—will be among panelists. Alexander has conducted extensive research in legal and extra-legal rights to property, housing, and urban space; teaches corporations, housing law and policy, and local government law; and serves as faculty director for Housing and Property Rights Programs of Ď㽶Đă Law’s Initiative on Land, Housing & Property Rights.
Other panelists are: Chrystal Kornegay, executive director of MassHousing, which lends over $1 billion annually to produce and preserve affordable rental housing and create homeownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income borrowers; Juana B. Matias, appointed by President Biden as New England regional administrator for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; and MassHousing Board of Trustees Chair Jeanne Pinado, executive vice president of Colliers International, where she plays an integral national role developing and nurturing the firm’s global diversity and inclusion initiatives.
“We have a dynamic panel with years of experience in expanding the fair housing space,” said Moore. “Their insights, expertise, and connections to the communities they serve will give us all much to think about and action steps to help change the landscape of racial injustice in housing. We are looking forward to the Ď㽶Đă community coming together to learn from four women leaders who are on the ground making change happen.”
A University-wide initiative, the Forum provides a meeting place for listening, dialogue, and greater understanding about race and racism in America. Under the auspices of the Carroll School of Management, the Corcoran Center leverages a multidisciplinary approach to cultivate discussions and develop actions that foster community transformation.
For more information, visit the event website.