As we pause to celebrate Black History Month, I find little to celebrate regarding advances in homeownership in African American populations. A 2023 report from the National Association of Realtors, points to an overall homeownership rate increase, but Black Americans trail 29 percentage points behind.

Racial inequalities extend to housing affordability (Black homeowners use more of their income to own homes), mortgage fairness (20% of Black applicants were denied), and many report discrimination in transactions.

What isn’t mentioned in the report are the real-life experiences of “redlining” by mortgage lenders, by and through lower appraisals for homes in minority neighborhoods.

All of us will rightly pause this month to reflect on the gains made by Black Americans over time, but we cannot continue to curtail efforts regarding equal opportunities to attain home ownership. We cannot continue to deny parts of our society a chance for progress and think it will improve our whole society. Attaining homeownership has always been the American Dream. And the success of even one African American, in the words of Senator Barbara Jordan, is “evidence that the American Dream need not forever be deferred.”