FAQs
What is the Alliance?
A new nationwide coalition initiated by BIPOC leaders and advocates to increase the national housing supply and homeownership to address the century-old and growing wealth gap and mitigate the racial divide.
Aren't you duplicating other community organizations with similar objectives?
No - we are filling a void that will support them. Despite their excellent work utilizing numerous fair lending and community investment legislation, communities of color are still falling further behind white communities in homeownership and wealth.
What is the void?
The void is an imbalance of the law of supply and demand. Most current government and community housing organizations (including the President's recent housing proposal) increase the demand, thus increasing the cost of homes. Median home prices have increased 160% since 2000. Our objective is to bring balance by increasing the supply of homes which lowers housing prices.
How do the housing programs do this?
With financial subsidies to rent or qualify for a home mortgage and tax credits that help build (90%) rental units. Rentals are sorely needed but do not directly contribute to closing the wealth gap like homeownership.
Isn't it important to continue these programs?
Absolutely, these programs are critical and should be expanded; but they need to be balanced with an increase in the supply of homes to fulfill the growing demand.
How do you plan to increase the national housing supply?
By building and utilizing new collaborative partnerships with corporations and community organizations that generally do not work together but either have a vested social or profit interest in building more homes. And, by working with these partnerships to improve and increase government legislation and policies affecting homeownership and housing.
Who are the corporate and community organizations you plan to partner with?
Corporations include (but aren’t limited to) realtors, insurance, unions, developers, financial institutions, and building suppliers. Community organizations include housing and homeless advocates and faith-based organizations.
What makes you believe this approach can be successful?
We recognize that no program is a silver bullet that will magically solve the decades-old wealth and homeownership gap, but it can make a positive difference. It's a win-win program:
It's a win for the middle class, whose size and wealth are declining due to the unaffordability of homes. In 1971, the middle class was 61% of the population; in 2022, it decreased to 50%.
It's a win for communities of color who are the furthest behind in wealth and homeownership.
It's a win for all the corporations who will profit financially from housing construction.
It's a win because it mitigates the effects of a century of redlining without invoking any semblance of racial preferences.
Lastly, it's a win for democracy. America's diverse communities working together on a critical common issue can help mitigate the century-old racial division that has plagued and weakened our nation for too long.
What are your immediate plans?
First, we will create a Steering Committee of corporate and community representatives to assist us in implementing a conference of members and friends in Washington, DC, on September 12th, 2024. This will include an expedition the following day to meet with key legislators and government agencies working to increase the national housing supply.
What is the purpose of the convening and the expedition?
We plan to host major government agencies (including the White House) and national community organizations working on housing to present their current programs and plans to increase the national housing supply, factors that may inhibit their success, and how we may assist them.
The expedition's purpose is similar: to learn what the other (uninvited) government agencies and legislators on housing committees are doing and how we may assist them.
Why do you call it a convening and an expedition instead of a conference and lobbying?
In contrast to a conference, we are convening a most unlikely partnership. Our expedition will explore what is being done to increase housing, it differs from the traditional lobbying for legislation or legislators.