A Juneteenth Message from the NAHRO President and NAHRO CEO 

On Sunday, June 19, we will observe Juneteenth, the annual celebration of Black emancipation from slavery in the United States.  

While Juneteenth is the youngest of the 12 Federal holidays, it is a vital part of our country’s history. It is also an appropriate time to pause and think about what we have done to address continued structural racism and inequity, and how much more we need to do.   

As NAHRO, we work towards building fairer and more equitable outcomes by helping our members fulfill the missions of their housing  and community development agencies.  Supported by a grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation, NAHRO is using existing research on housing and equity to inform new policy and program changes within the affordable housing industry, to create an equitable housing toolkit, and to train housing agencies on best practices for using the toolkit. Our Professional Development department offers courses on implicit bias, and we’re developing more training opportunities in this space.  

We also do the work within our own national organization. One of the goals in NAHRO’s strategic plan is to advance diversity, equity and inclusion as crucial to healthy communities. Last year, our Board of Governors adopted a diversity, equity and inclusion policy framework, and NAHRO’s leadership committees are continuing their work on it.   

While we may pause to reflect and celebrate on this national Juneteenth holiday, we remain active in our commitment to building equitable communities, and our work will continue when we return to our offices on Tuesday.  

In celebration of Juneteenth, 

Patricia Wells, NAHRO President
Mark Thiele, NAHRO CEO