Top 10 Civil Liberties News Stories of the Week - August 11, 2006 Edition

Study: Black Survivors of Hurricane Katrina Subjected to Housing Discrimination

The wreckage of a home in New Orleans' 9th Ward, destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

Photo: Copyright (c) 2006 Craig Toocheck. Used by permission.

A study of five states done by the National Fair Housing Alliance and linguistics expert John Baugh revealed in 66 percent of phone tests administered by white and black testers inquiring about housing as Katrina survivors, "white callers were favored over African-American callers" ...

(T)he organization's report on "Housing Discrimination Against Hurricane Katrina Survivors" showed repeated bias in a number of areas, including Black testers not getting return phone calls, and being quoted higher rent prices and security deposits.

"In Birmingham, a white tester was told that a $150 security deposit and $25 per adult application fee would be waived for her as a Hurricane Katrina victim. She was also told she needed to make 2.5 times the rent to qualify for the apartment. The African-American tester was told that she would have to pay $150 for the security deposit and a $25 application fee for each applicant. The African-American hurricane survivor was also told that she would have to make three times the rent to qualify for the apartment," the report stated.

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