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by my organization CURE, reports: In 1970, the White homeownership rate was 66% and the Black rate was 42%, with the Black rate at 64% of the White rate. Through the second quarter of 2022, the White homeownership rate was 74% and the Black rate was 45%, with the Black rate at 61% of the White rate.

Over these years we have seen vast expansion of government programs to allegedly help “minorities” afford housing and get mortgages to finance home purchases.

We see from Pinto’s data that, overall, the impact has been effectively a net zero.

But worse than not helping, in many instances, damage was done. Government programs encouraged lenders to make loans that borrowers could not afford.

According to real estate research firm Zillow, after the real estate crash in 2007, “homes in Black and Hispanic communities were 2 and 2.5 times as likely, respectively, to experience foreclosure than homes in white communities nationwide between January 2007 and December 15.”

Beyond the failure of government programs to advance home ownership in Black communities, vast damage was done through public housing and housing assistance programs, again allegedly to help minority Americans.

Howard Husock, also of the American Enterprise Institute, reports in “The State of Black Progress” the destructive history of government public housing programs. The failure of public housing might be placed under the overall headline of what happens when government bureaucrats use their power to decide what problems exist in Black communities and then go in and “solve” them.

Husock describes, tragically, how, in the name of “slum” clearance, vibrant Black communities were destroyed — communities with homeowners, churches and businesses — and replaced by public housing, which are essentially government- run and -controlled ghettos.

Per Husock, “Even as African Americans comprise 13% of the US population, they are 48% of public and subsidized housing.” Public housing is notoriously dysfunctional and has fostered the growth of broken, poverty- and crime-ridden communities.

I think of the title of the book by The Wall Street Journal’s Jason Riley, “Please Stop Helping Us: How Liberals Make It Harder for Blacks to Succeed.”

Knowing our new Secretary of HUD Scott Turner, I’m sure he is aware of the often-quoted observation that insanity is doing the same thing but expecting different results.

For sure, with regard to housing and communities, it is time for something entirely new by bringing back something entirely old: the truths that lie in real community, private property and ownership, personal responsibility and family.

Star Parker is founder of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education. Her recent book, “What Is the CURE for America?” is available now. To find out more about Star Parker and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators. com. COPYRIGHT 2025 CREATORS. COM