Throughout the history of the United States, there has always been segregation between people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds especially Africans and African-Americans. This country has historically separated them from white Americans and housed them in what are called ghettos or slums. This, in a perpetual cycle, limits their opportunities for education and jobs. In cities throughout our country, we still see this element of segregation and its effects are still viewable through the lens of public interest lawyers who work with low income families and individuals.
In the United States, our government abolished segregation in 1964 but elements of racial segregation and inequality are still present through to today. In the 1990s, it was brought to the attention of these lawyers that there was not enough affordable housing. During this decade, low income whites were four times as likely to get a home mortgage loan compared to low income people of color.
This brought more attention to the issue to these lawyers who started to work with these families and individuals, and they began a coalition to start programs for these people. They started working with banks, letting bank workers know that these particular families and individuals will not be able to get out of their financial holes without substantial loans. This issue has not been fully resolved and there is still a lot more work to be done to further improve the situations in which these people find themselves in. From looking at the data they have collected, people of color are still living in separate parts of cities and experiencing the impact of this country’s past.
