FHO's Commitment to Racial Justice

Housing Justice is Racial Justice

Deeply rooted systems of racial bias, discrimination, and segregation greatly limit the housing options and life opportunities of millions of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. The Fund for Housing and Opportunity (FHO) is dedicated to dismantling racial inequities, repairing harms, and restructuring systems to ensure equitable housing and life outcomes for all people. We are also committed to supporting organizations that build the leadership, power, and wealth of people facing housing instability, especially BIPOC communities, who rightfully must be at the forefront of advancing housing security and racial justice for all people.

FHO's work focuses on renters of color—including Black, Indigenous, Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders, and Latinx—who are extremely low-income to low-income or who do not have a home at all (approximately 14.9 million households). FHO recognizes how intersectional forces of oppression, discrimination, and privilege operate in the housing system across race, ethnicity, disability, sexuality, gender, immigration status, and other aspects of identity.

Racial Justice

Policies, practices and procedures that ensure equitable outcomes across race. The focus is on closing the gaps so that race does not predict one’s success, while also improving outcomes for all. To get to racial equity requires targeted strategies that focus on improvements for those worse off, and move beyond services to focus on changing policies, institutions, and structures, while shifting power to those who have been most disadvantaged.
Racial Bias

Prejudice, based on race and othering, whether explicit (conscious and intentional) or implicit (unconscious and unintentional). Racial bias can impact both individual and institutional behavior--sometimes simultaneously when individuals are acting and interacting in institutional contexts and capacities—which is manifested in systems and policies that segregate, exclude, and do harm.
Racial Discrimination

Unfair treatment based on race (such as landlords’ refusal to rent to people of color, banks’ refusal to lend to people of color, government disinvestment in neighborhoods of color, etc.)
Racial Segregation

Separation by race, often residentially, but also other forms such as occupationally and educationally.
Native People and People of Color

While racial inequality has different impacts on different racial groups, there is also a need for an inclusive and unifying term that encompasses a variety of groups that are disadvantaged by systemic racism, including Native People and people who are African Americans, Asians, Latin(o/a/x)s, Middle Eastern and North African, Multiracial and Pacific Islander. It is helpful to identify and name all of these specific groups in order to be mindful of inclusion. “Native People” are named first, distinctly, and together with “People of Color.” This honors Native People as the first people of this land and recognizes that Native People, in addition to a racialized identity, also have a sovereign national and tribal status.
Dismantling Racial Inequities

This involves interrupting and eliminating policies and practices that result in unfair treatment and outcomes.
Repairing Harms

This involves the remedying or redress of inequities. Reconciliation and reparations are both important tools for addressing historic and contemporary racial discrimination.
Restructuring Systems

Racial equity involves not only the absence of racial inequities, but also the presence or prospect of sufficient systems and supports that affirmatively and sustainably support equity. This can refer to existing, emergent, or possible new systems.
Equitable Housing

Accessible, affordable, inclusive, quality, stable, safe, and sustainable long-term housing, where people have choices, agency, and satisfaction with their homes and neighborhoods.
Equitable Life Outcomes

This involves fairness, across race, in key measures of well-being such as infant mortality rates, educational attainment, homeownership, household income and wealth, employment rates, health care access and quality, and life expectancy.
All People

All means all, whether you are documented or undocumented, housed or homeless, renter or homeowner, incarcerated or not, citizen or not, etc.
Housing Instability

Refers to people or households having to spend an unsustainable portion of their income on housing costs, encompassing a variety of challenges, such as insufficient income, overcrowding, and moving frequently.
Housing Security

Accessible, affordable, inclusive, quality, stable, safe, and sustainable long-term housing.