Black Americans Facing Eviction on a Massive Scale

When local and state eviction moratoriums expire, many Americans are at risk of losing their homes during a period where over 20 million are unemployed. With Black and Latino Americans twice as white people to rent, the threat of eviction weighs disproportionally upon working-class people of color. According to recent Census Bureau data, 44% of black tenants believe they will not be able to come up with rent next month. "Housing advocates warn that landlords around the country are already preparing eviction proceedings to file the moment they’re allowed to proceed," reports Katy O'Donnell. 

House Democrats passed a law placing a 12-month moratorium on eviction from federally funded properties and supplying $100 billion to tenants as rental assistance. For those not living in government-owned housing, the threat of impending eviction is heavy. "About 40 percent of homeless people in the U.S. and over half of homeless families with children are black, even though just 13 percent of the population is black," writes O'Donnell. Decades of racist housing policy have to be addressed to find a permanent solution.