STATEMENT ON HIP’S COMMITMENT TO PROMOTING EQUITY AND JUSTICE IN THESE TROUBLED TIMES
We are sickened by the criminal use of force by local police departments that has taken the lives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and so many other African Americans during our nation’s troubled history of racism, and we join the call of so many citizens seeking justice and an elimination of both personal and structural racism in our society. Indeed, we recognize that none of us is free to achieve our highest potential when some of us are treated differently based on the color of our skin.
As a community-based nonprofit housing developer and counseling agency, HIP is dedicated to revitalizing communities and creating housing and economic security that improve the quality of life in the communities we serve.
HIP affirms its commitment to racial equity when developing programs and policies by examining the outcomes, intended and unintended, of its work, and their impact on racial justice and fairness. We affirm our commitment to increase our understanding of how our actions affect the families and communities we serve by engaging in a continuing process of examining racial equity. As affordable housing developers and counselors, we have a particular responsibility to recognize the sordid history of racial segregation in housing, and how our zoning laws and federal financing programs have contributed to perpetuating these inequities on a neighborhood level.
HIP applauds the efforts of the many courageous people demanding justice in these trying times. We believe that by joining together with others committed to justice, we can have a profound impact on our future.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.
Statement from the Board and Staff of Housing Initiative Partnership, Inc.
Systemic racism affects every area of life in the United States, from incarceration rates to predatory loans. Trying to solve these problems requires changes in major parts of our systems. Please view this You Tube video for a closer look at what systemic racism is, and how we can solve it.