Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Nov. 14, 2002, edition 1 / Page 9
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HUD: Housing discrimination down, but not out FROM STAFF REPORTS Housing discrimination against African-Americans and Hispanics is down more than 25 percent, says a HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) study thai was released last week. "Discrimination in Metro politan Housing Markets: Phase I" revealed that this percent age is the lowest since 1 9 8 9. Discrim ination against African a n iiic i i * cans looking to rent is down 18 per cent while it is unchanged foi Hispanics. HUD, the nation's housing agency, which aims to increase homeownership among minori ties, sponsored the study which was conducted by the Urban Institute. Mel Martinez. Housing and Urban Development secretary, said that the results "illustrate that we are making efforts, but 1 there is still work to be done." HUD stated that this study is "the most ambitious effort" done so far to measure the extent of housing discrimina tion in the country against peo ple due to race or ethnic back ground. Previous studies done on the matter were last con ducted in 1977 and 1989. A technique called "pair testing" was utilized in the study to measure the level .of housing discrimination. Two individuals - one minority and the other a white. non-Hispanic - were Assigned nearly identi cal characteristics and respond ed to the same advertisement within a short period of time of one another to test the adverse treatment. The results of this study are based on 4.600 paired ! tests between 1989 and 2000. : Home sales discrimination against blacks has declined to 17 percent, down from 29 per cent, and has also declined for File Photo Atlanta's had the highest incidence of housing discrimination, according to a HUD report. Hispanic home buyers to 20 percent, down from 27 perfient. The study showed that black home buyers experienced discrimination with inspec tions, steering, financing assis tance, and encouragenVent. Hispanic home buyers also reported discrimination with steering and financing assis tance. Where renting is con cerned, discrimination against blacks has declined to 22 per cent. down from 26 percent. and discrimination against His panics has remained the same at 25 percent. Hispanic renters are now more likely to experi ence discrimination in their housing search than African Americans. The black/white tests indi cated that the overall incidence of consistent white-favored treatment for renters was high er than the national average in Atlanta at 30.0 percent. Sales discrimination was higher than the national average of 17 per cent in Austin, Texas (25.3 per cent), and Birmingham, Ala. (27.3 percent). Most metropol itan areas experience housing discrimination at or near the national level, which is 21.6 percent This study was the first phase of four housing discrimi nation reports, and future stud ies will provide a national esti mate of discrimination against Asians, Native Americans and persons with disabilities. For more information, call (800) HUO-USER or visit www.hud.gov. Latham from page A J brainer. More than a dozen peo ple attended Tuesday's meeting to show their support for John son. "Here is somebody who worked with Dr. Fields, who is appreciated in the same way and who appreciates the neighbor hood. and the school and those parents and those students. We feel like that is a reasonable step for the School Board to make." said the Rev. Ellen Yarborough. a pastor associated with Green Street Baptist Church, which shares the same South Winsjon Salem neighborhood with Lath am. A committee is already inter viewing prospective candidates for the Latham job, according to David Fairall, human resources director for the school system. A batch of applicants was already interviewed, and another is expected to face the committee tomorrow. Superintendent Don Martin will ultimately pick a candidate to recommend to the School Board, which has to approve the choice. Martin favors the com mittee's role so that he can get as many different perspectives as possible before he makes his rec ommendation, Fairall said. The committee consists of School Board members, Latham teachers, and administrators. There are no parents on the com mittee, but Fairall said Martin has met with Latham parents to get their input. School Board member Gene va Brown, a member of the selec tion committee, was one of Fields' closest friends. She said her main objective on the com mittee is to find someone who is immensely qualified to take over the school, "We need to find the very best person to fit what's going (on) at that school at this time," she said. The president of the Latham Parent-Teacher Association says that parents strongly support making Johnson the school's next principal. But she told the board that regardless of who is named the school's new princi pal. he or she should be prepared to continue to guide Latham for ward, "No matter who becomes our new principal, we just want things to continue in a progres sive manner. We don't want ... to go backwards," said PTA presi dent Pamela Carson. At the time Fields led thd school with Johnson by his side, Latham was believed to be the only school in the system where a black principal and assistant prin cipal both had doctoral degrees. I Housing from pane A 2 ble, buyers with stable and verifi able incomes, reasonably good credit and funds for down pay ments can have their housing costs subsidized up to $30,000. "People don't actually think that they can buy a home, but we work with you to get you home ready," said Gaddy, who men tioned that some buyers use their income tax returns to pay off debts while others choose to apply income tax returns to down payments and closing costs. Gaddy added: "There are benefits to being a homeowner, especially at income-tax season; homeowners receive a greater return: the most important bene fit is that you have an asset. You can leave a legacy for your chil dren's children." According to Jane Milner, Housing Partnership director, well over I0Q families have bought and moved into homes, in the last five years, as a result of the Housing Partnership. Milner also explained that the partner ship aims to blend resources from the private and public sec tors to provide affordable hous ing for hardworking residents of Winston-Salem. "The biggest problem that we have is qualifying the home buy ers fast enough to move them into all of the (developments)," said Milner, who says that their goal is to complete the building of 300 homes by 2003. ' r> The majority of the Housing Partnership's clients are African American. but Gaddy says that they prefer their housing sites to be in economically and racially mixed neighborhoods, which both she and Milner agree "make for a healthier community." Strict guidelines and covenants, says Gaddy, are enforced in all of the Housing Partnership develop ments in order to maintain appre ciation of each of the sites. Potential buyers are often encouraged to participate in the IDA (Individual Development Account) program, which is a combination of budget and credit counseling with a program of matched savings, Gaddy says. Hill participated in the IDA pro gram and she attended economic literacy classes all while saving a small portion of her earnings on a regular basis. "The main thing is that they have the interest of homeowner ship. When clients (attend IDA classes) and see the presenta tions, all they say is 'thank you' because their eyes have been opened to information they have never been provided with before," Gaddy said. Currently five developments - Sunbridge, Ridgewood Place, Esquire Place, Berry Gardens and Pleasant Hill - are located around the county and serve Housing Partnership clients. Each one- or two-story home has a minimum of three bedrooms, one and a half baths, with the option of having a garage and basement. Clients can also choose the builder. "Anybody looking for a place (to live) needs to get in touch with Olivia (Gaddy). As long as they have patience and the time, she can get them on the right track." Hill said. With the holiday season just around the comer, Gaddy encourages interested home buy ers to stay on the path to home ownership and not to lose focus of their visions, plans or goals for homes they want to purchase. Call 725-8704 for further information about the Housing Partnership of Winston Salem/Forsyth County. BOB'S CARWASH & DETAIL Pick up & Delivery Available. 5775 Reynolda Rd. 336-922-2583 \ "Proud To Serve You" Owner/Manager Registered Barbers Needed. Kull <>r Part Time Open: Tuesday thru Friday 9-6, Sat 8-4 Closed Monday BUS STOP H Barber Shop and Hair Stylist 1302 E. 4th St Winston-Salem, NC (336) 722-1902 Eric S. Ellison Attorney at Law Practice Areas: ? Real Estate Closings ? District Court Practice ? Business Law ? Property Bonds 515 West 2nd Street Winston-Salem, NC 27101 Phone: (336) 723-7370 ? 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Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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Nov. 14, 2002, edition 1
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