NAHRO President’s Statement on Juneteenth
This coming Saturday, we will observe Juneteenth, the annual celebration of Black emancipation from slavery in the United States. A bill establishing the day as the 12th federal holiday passed through the house on Wednesday following the Senate’s unanimous consent the day before. The Juneteenth National Independence Day bill is now scheduled to be signed into law.
As NAHRO, we recommit ourselves to addressing continued structural racism and inequity – not just by helping our members fulfill the missions of their housing and community development agencies, but also by advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion as crucial to healthy communities.
Earlier this year, NAHRO’s Board of Governors adopted a diversity, equity and inclusion policy framework, and NAHRO’s leadership committees have begun their work on it. With a grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation, NAHRO is also working to bridge the gap between existing research on housing and equity with the affordable housing industry, to create an equitable housing toolkit, and to train housing agencies on best practices for using the toolkit.
The work continues, as does our commitment to it.