“The beloved community is made up of all of us, and thus we must find ways to function together despite our differences.”

Dear America,

We often hear that it takes a whole village to raise a child.  And what about the village itself, what does it need to support a child and their family?  Homes, certainly.  But homes standing alone are not sufficient to make a community, a beloved community.  We need a network of people and an infrastructure of businesses, schools, transportation, medical care, and other services, as well as the laws and guidance that knit together these disparate aspects of community to operate properly.  The beloved community is made up of all of us, and thus we must find ways to function together despite our differences.  Each of us needs to know what is expected of us and that we can rely upon those around us to execute their responsibilities knowledgeably and, ideally, with dignity and compassion.  

The civil rights laws that HUD is charged with enforcing, e.g., Title VI, The Fair Housing Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, and Violence Against Women Act, became laws to correct the ways that people were treated that did not meet the standards of our foundational principles articulated within the Declaration of Independence and effectuated through the United States Constitution, i.e., the rights to equality, justice, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  These laws, and the regulations and guidance that interpret them, guide future action to better care for our community.  Such guidance helps each of us to contribute to society to the best of our ability consistently with such laws. 

 Instead of seeking to effectuate such foundational principles, however, the Trump administration has been using mercenary numerical quotas to remove regulation (i.e., 10 existing regulations must be eliminated before a new regulation may be issued), to cut staff, to halt the award of grant money to organizations that serve homeless persons and DV survivors, and undermine financial resolutions in conciliation agreements between consenting parties.  There appears to have been no effort to first evaluate whether such executive orders and mandates serve the beloved community’s need for:  consistent guidance, staff to use their training and expertise to execute tasks, money to be awarded to keep communities thriving and safety nets in place, and fairness in resolving allegations of discrimination. 

 Regardless of whether HUD abdicates its enforcement responsibilities, and regardless of whether HUD removes regulations and guidance, these laws remain in effect.  Housing providers, lenders, participating jurisdictions, and other individuals and entities that house, build, finance, and serve the beloved community have a natural interest in knowing what the law requires so that they can comply.  Removing and abandoning regulations and guidance does a disservice to those that risk liability for failing to comply with these civil rights laws.  While HUD plays an important, even irreplaceable, role in enforcing fair housing through its administrative process, the law can also be – and is - enforced through private legal action in federal and state courts.  

 HUD’s failure to provide meaningful and accurate education and guidance about the law should concern everyone, including the housing providers who continue to face liability under these laws.  For example, HUD’s rescission of Trump I guidance on assessing requests for reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities that use untrained assistance animals, including animals that provide therapeutic emotional support, abandons people with disabilities who need the help of such an animal.  The requirement that an assistance animal (as opposed to a service animal) be trained is contrary to the law.  Such untrained animals help persons with disabilities, e.g., manage anxiety by providing physical presence to focus a person on the present; address depression by giving purpose to a person who might not otherwise be able to get out of bed; provide companionship that curtails the loneliness and isolation of living with a disability; offer stability for those that are unsteady on their feet.  

 HUD’s guidance has changed, but not the law.  Housing providers, you play an important role in our beloved community.  Yet, you, too, have been abandoned.  You have been left to police yourself in the face of inconsistent or absent guidance. Yet, there is no vacation from the risk of legal liability.  Approvals from HUD for voluntary conciliation agreements that you willingly entered to resolve complaints of discrimination against you are unreasonably delayed, or worse, repudiated, leaving complainants free to pursue private claims against you, and leaving everyone without resolution.  

The community is counting on you to follow the spirit and the letter of the law regardless of the administration’s efforts to weaken respect for, and adherence to, the law.  Housing providers, lenders, builders and others, do not forget that you, too, are part of the village, the beloved community, that makes up America – organized under and protected by the Constitution - that promises that everyone in this country lives free from illegal discrimination.  Beloved America, will you help fulfill that promise?

 —Anonymous