The Northeast Action Collective and Texas Housers continue to call on HUD to use all of its power to enforce Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to uphold their finding that the State of Texas discriminated against BIPOC communities in the distribution of Flood Mitigation Funding awarded after Hurricane Harvey. We urge Sec Marcia Fudge and the Biden Administration to refer the case to the DOJ and freeze funding immediately.
The Texas General Land Office’s denial of funding to Houston, Beaumont, Corpus Christi, and Port Arthur demonstrates that the GLO and Governor Greg Abbott believe that Black and Brown Peoples’ lives are less valuable and that BIPOC communities are not worthy of flood protection. By enforcing their finding, HUD has the opportunity to protect BIPOC people that face the worst impacts of climate change, set the precedent that CDBG-MIT money must be spent equitably, uphold President Biden’s promise to address more than 400 years of systemic racism, and defend civil rights.
