‘Fight for your rights:’ new study shows alarming trend for non-white renters and homeowners

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — There’s a common occurrence nowadays: rent prices are up and often faster than salaries can keep up.

For African American renters, the issue of rent affordability is an even higher mountain to climb.

“Just over 50% of the African American renters In Duval County pay more than 30% of their household income towards housing costs as compared to 40% of the white, non-Hispanic population,” pointed out Dr. Steve Kelley, Professor of Economics & Finance for Jacksonville University.

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According to a recent Zillow study, there are six times as many African American renters paying over half of their income to rent as there are housing vouchers available in Jacksonville.

However, the issue isn’t just limited to non-white renters, but also homeowners like Sharon Harvey.

“You’re gonna have to have either a great credit score, or you’re going to have to have income to prove that you can afford to live there,” Harvey told Action News Jax. “And sometimes that nixed the some of us out.”

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Ultimately, it’s an issue rooted in generations of lack of equal opportunity for non-white citizens, Dr. Kelley explained.

“Insurance for homeowners was nearly impossible for African Americans to get prior to the late 1950s and early 1960s,” Dr. Kelley said. “So that was generations of potential homeowners that went without that opportunity to build wealth and [it] really set a stage for wealth disparity that is still present today.”

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Now, there are two main paths forward to address the issue.

“More work needs to be done in education and addressing income disparity to the extent possible,” Dr. Kelley said.

“You just try your best to fight for your rights,” Harvey added. “Vote, and you know, try to make a difference.”

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