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Civil Rights Lawyers Say No to Increasing Law Enforcement Officers to Address Public Safety Concerns

Civil Rights Lawyers Say No to Increasing Law Enforcement Officers to Address Public Safety Concerns May 25th, 2022 Today marks the two-year anniversary since the murder of George Floyd and subsequent community demands for police accountability across the nation and here in New Jersey. But legislation introduced in the wake of Floyd’s murder has yet to move forward in New Jersey. It is within that context that earlier this week, members of the New Jersey Assembly introduced legislation that would require some municipalities, based on population size and crime rates, to hire additional law enforcement officers based on a formula

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A Reflection on the Fair Housing Act

A Reflection on the Fair Housing Act April 20th, 2022 By Luke Hinrichs, Legal Fellow  In early August of 1966, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and fellow demonstrators were confronted by a white mob of counter-protestors during a march to promote open housing in Marquette Park in Chicago. The counter-protestors grew increasingly violent—throwing rocks, bottles, and bricks—and eventually struck King in the head. These perpetrators of violence were not Southern Segregationists refusing to yield their grip on a Jim Crow society, but rather they were white Northern residents resisting racial justice and the end to housing discrimination — a

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In Memoriam: Colandus “Kelly” Francis

In Memoriam: Colandus “Kelly” Francis April 1st, 2022 By Adam Gordon, Executive Director, Fair Share Housing Center  I’m very sad to share that FSHC’s Board Chair, Colandus “Kelly” Francis, passed away last Saturday.  Kelly was a civil rights giant who in so many ways was at the leading edge for decades of struggles for racial justice in Camden and throughout New Jersey. In addition to being a longtime member, and chair since 2015, of FSHC’s Board, he was a longtime member of the NJ NAACP’s Executive Committee, former President of the Camden County NAACP, and on the boards of the

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Housing is a Feminist Issue

Housing is a Feminist Issue March 25th, 2022 By Yvette Chen, Planning & Policy Analyst  Urban planning and the design of our cities and suburbs have always perpetuated inequality by race, gender, ability, and class. Historically, marginalized groups, including women, have not been involved in shaping our built landscapes nor housing policies, though they are disproportionately affected by them. Although COVID-19 is first and foremost a health crisis, it has amplified other crises in the home and the labor market. When we think critically about how housing issues and their solutions overlap with structural issues like gender inequality, we can

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ARP Funds Provide a Unique Opportunity for NJ to Make a Historic Investment in Affordable Housing

ARP Funds Provide a Unique Opportunity for NJ to Make a Historic Investment in Affordable Housing February 24th, 2022 Now is the time to think big about addressing New Jersey’s affordability crisis. ARP funding provides a potentially once in a lifetime opportunity to be strategic about how we leverage federal and state dollars to create meaningful and transformational change to address housing inequities and affordability in our state. New Jersey should follow the lead of states like California and New York, who have committed to making historic investments in housing, and use ARP dollars to purposefully address systemic racism, segregated

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The Racial History of Housing Discrimination and its Continued Effects in 2022

The Racial History of Housing Discrimination and its Continued Effects in 2022 February 24th, 2022   By Cree Long, FSHC Communications and Development Intern As Black History Month comes to an end, we are once again reminded of the historic connection between housing and race, and the origin story of our organization that is grounded in the power of engaged and organized communities. Our mission is to eliminate exclusionary zoning and housing patterns that prevent lower income and communities of color from residing in safe, affordable, and healthy homes. The Mount Laurel Doctrine, the series of Supreme Court decisions that

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