Month: December 2016
CALL TO ACTION: 12.07.16
Today’s CALL TO ACTION 12.07.16:
The President-Elect has nominated former Presidential candidate and retired neurosurgeon, Ben Carson, to the head of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Carson has no experience in managing a department of this size or in the world public housing development. He has previously spoken out about “safety-net” programs that help minorities and low-income citizens and how helping the poor is not the job of the government.
TODAY’S NEWS PIECE: “If Carson remains true to his political commentary about the nation’s housing programs, he could pursue a conservative agenda sharply at odds with efforts by the Obama administration to promote racial integration in housing and with other anti-segregation policies championed by minority groups such as the NAACP. Carson might also abandon or place new restrictions on government subsidies and other programs that conservatives criticize as fostering a culture of overreliance on government handouts, according to housing advocates alarmed by his nomination.
It could prove difficult, however, for Carson to manage, much less change the fundamental course of an organization as massive as HUD. By his admission, Carson has never run an organization of that size and is far from fluent in housing-policy issues. His leadership of the department will be a test case for Trump’s stated governing philosophy that it is better for Washington outsiders, even those with no policy experience, to hold the levers of federal power.”
“Coming to lead an agency that serves the poorest people in the country with a philosophy of if people are that poor it’s because they’re not trying hard enough could have a big impact on the people HUD serves,” said Diane Yentel, president of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.”
CALL TO ACTION: If you’re concerned about the potential changes Ben Carson’s lack of experience or how his appointment may affect efforts to foster racial integration and anti-segregation policies, we urge you to speak up and contact your state representatives. You may also wish to donate to programs that support racial equality and anti-discriminatory actions related to housing.
NATIONAL LOW INCOME HOUSING COALITION: “The National Low Income Housing Coalition is dedicated solely to achieving socially just public policy that assures people with the lowest incomes in the United States have affordable and decent homes. Our goals are to preserve existing federally assisted homes and housing resources, expand the supply of low income housing, and establish housing stability as the primary purpose of federal low income housing policy.”
HOW TO GET INVOLVED: http://nlihc.org/involvement
***LET US KNOW IN THE COMMENTS IF YOU SIGNED UP FOR MORE INFO, DONATED, TWEETED, VOLUNTEERED, ETC.!
OTHER GROUPS TO DONATE/VOLUNTEER/OR SHOUT OUT:
Fair Housing Justice Center: http://www.fairhousingjustice.org/about-us/mission-history/
NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund: http://www.naacpldf.org/ways-get-involved
LGBT Aging Center: http://www.lgbtagingcenter.org/resources/index.cfm?s=15
SAGE: http://www.sageusa.org/lgbthousing/
OTHER NEWS PIECES:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/05/us/politics/ben-carson-housing-urban-development-trump.html
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bal-ben-carson-hud-secretary-20161205-story.html
Today’s Call to Action: 12.05.16
Call to Action: 12.06.16
Today’s Call to Action: 12.06.16 is more of a Call for Crowdsourcing!
Tell us about the organizations we should recommend donating to, volunteering for, etc…from the city, state, to national level — we want to hear about them and what issue they help tackle.
Please COMMENT below or email us at lovetrumpshatethefirst100days@gmail.com