Habitat’s goal is fair, equitable housing experience
Messages of struggle, hope and dreams have captivated the minds and souls of everyday people for centuries. Words spoken by charismatic leaders like Lincoln, Churchill and Martin Luther King Jr. Resounding words — sometimes as booming, trembling voices, sometimes phrases that resonate and inspire hope.
I’m not sure how old I was when I first heard MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech, but I remember listening on my mother and grandmother’s record player. I remember how the hair on the back of my neck stood up whenever I heard MLK’s voice (it still does today).
How was I, just a young boy, so moved by this man’s messages? Did I really understand the struggles, injustice and hardships he spoke of? Or was it the emotion that filled my grandmother when she heard his voice that simply transferred to me?
In those moments, she wanted the room to be completely silent. She only wanted to hear Martin – the man who had sacrificed so much so that her dreams and the dreams of her children and grandchildren could be realized.
Those hours spent listening to old albums inform my work at Habitat for Humanity. Today, my every effort and goal is to create a fair, equitable experience around access to housing, particularly homeownership.
A decent, safe, affordable home is nothing to take for granted, a lesson I learned during my childhood. The home where my mother, grandmother and I listened to MLK together — the home where my grandmother shed tears that I didn’t fully understand — was inferior. It lacked so much in the physical aspects — like a working bathroom — but was so filled with love that I often never realized how bad it was.
Love can do wonders for the spirit and heart of a person, but laws and enforced fairness can provide a world where everyone has a truly decent place to live. In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson made good on a century-old promise — Title VIII of the proposed 1968 Civil Rights Act, best known as the Fair Housing Act. The law that prohibited discrimination concerning the sale, rental and financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin or sex.
The law was not easily passed. It faced a filibuster in the Senate but passed by a slim margin. Then, on April 4, 1968, MLK was assassinated here in Memphis. President Johnson insisted the Fair Housing Act be enacted before MLK’s funeral as a tribute to a man who had given his life fighting for civil rights — The Beloved Community, a world that allows access, equality and opportunity for all. On April 10, the House passed the Fair Housing Act and on April 11, President Johnson signed it into law.
Habitat’s vision is a world where everyone has a decent place to live, and Memphis Habitat works daily to realize that vision in our community.
It is my honor and privilege to continue the struggle and the advocacy necessary to provide hope and access to decent housing for millions across the globe.
Dwayne Spencer is president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis.
Memphis Habitat hosts “Building the Beloved Community: A Conversation about the Fair Housing Act” Tuesday, July 17 at 3:30 p.m. at the National Civil Rights Museum. For more information and to register, visit www.memphishabitat.com/fhaforum.