Received this e-mail today from former NAACP Chairman Ben Jealous’ (D. MD) gubernatorial campaign:
Here’s the hard truth: it wasn’t too long ago that the housing market was able to discriminate against homebuyers simply because of the color of their skin. That is why the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) took a stand and added anti-discrimination language in their mission statement, promising “strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all,” that would be, “free from discrimination.”
Yet new reports show HUD Secretary Ben Carson wants to forget about the history of blatant discrimination against minorities. He announced that HUD is removing anti-discrimination language from its mission statement in a partisan attempt to bend to the Trump administration’s racist and homophobic agenda.
HUD is not the first agency that has changed its mission statement since Trump took office. Last month, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, removed the phrase “nation of immigrants” from its mission statement.
Under President Barack Obama, our nation made huge strides in civil rights. Obama’s work -- partnered with the work of the civil and human rights movement -- was able to empower America to be a more perfect example of unity. Whether an individual is being discriminated against because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, race, religion, or creed, we must stand together and say “no”.
We cannot let decades of hard work for civil and human rights be dismantled by Trump’s dangerous white supremacist agenda -- because removing a few words from HUD’s mission statement might seem innocent, but it sets a dangerous precedent. We must stand strong and fight back.
The virus of hatred anywhere requires ending it everywhere. The more we honor and embrace the diversity in all our communities the more we will all succeed.
Onward,
Ben Jealous