"The Thurmond Amendment, passed in 1988, is a carve-out of the Fair Housing Act that enables landlords-and the algorithmic screening software they increasingly rely on-to summarily deny housing to applicants with any conviction related to selling drugs, regardless of the circumstances. The result has been to undermine housing affordability. If the nation is to act and start making housing more affordable, removing this barrier is one obvious step to take."
"To understand the origin of this legislative barrier, we must look back to the notorious "War on Drugs," along with the hysteria and racialized fear that shaped federal policymaking in the 1980s. Crack cocaine was a genuine crisis in many communities, but in Washington, DC, it became a political opportunity. As The Washington Post noted at the time, Congress learned that attaching punitive anti-drug measures to legislation was a cunning way to showcase toughness"
Leaders nationwide face an affordability crisis while a longstanding barrier in housing law remains largely unseen. The Thurmond Amendment (1988) exempts convictions related to selling drugs from Fair Housing protections, allowing landlords and screening algorithms to summarily deny applicants regardless of circumstances. Rooted in 1980s War on Drugs politics and racialized fear, the amendment was added as a punitive, symbolic measure to signal toughness rather than to advance public safety. The exemption reversed Fair Housing's anti-discrimination intent for a specific class of people and has contributed to reduced housing access and affordability for those with convictions.
Read at Nonprofit Quarterly | Civic News. Empowering Nonprofits. Advancing Justice.
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