For much of the 20th century, housing discrimination was official policy. Racial zoning, restrictive covenants, redlining and federal mortgage rules kept Black families out of white neighborhoods and away from wealth-building loans. The Fair Housing Act, passed in April 1968 days after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, banned discrimination by race, color, religion and national origin. Sex, disability and family status were added later.
Discrimination continued but became harder to see. In a 2012 national study for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, paired testers who differed only by race contacted housing providers. Black renters were told about 11 percent fewer available units and shown about 4 percent fewer units than equally qualified white renters.
In Texas Department of Housing v. Inclusive Communities Project (2015), the Supreme Court held that the Fair Housing Act covers policies with discriminatory effects, not just intentional bias. Housing discrimination matters because where people live shapes their schools, jobs, health and wealth.