The federal government felt compelled to get in the business of public housing in the 1930s after witnessing the housing crisis after World War I. It supported the building of low-rent housing with the passage of a number of congressional acts. Over time, the government failed miserably to meet its promise of decent, affordable housing for poor and working people. We started to see less investment in brick and mortar and the move towards rental subsidies and assistance for homeowners.

The 1950 Pruitt-Igoe Housing Project was a huge debacle but there were also housing betrayals like Homeownership and Opportunity for People Everywhere (HOPE). More accurately, the program and all its reiterations up to HOPE VI were false hopes. The $5 billion HOPE VI program was supposed to replace public housing projects with rebuilt and/or redesigned mixed-income housing. The original tenants were to get first dibs on the new spaces, but in many cities those choices never materialized. Many former tenants were pushed onto long waiting lists for Section 8 vouchers that made them vulnerable to the practices of corrupt, private landlords.

The conditions that residents are fighting at the College Court apartments are no different from those that existed at Pruitt-Igoe. They are no different from the conditions in federally funded or federally subsidized housing projects across the nation.

The inhumane conditions include living with vermin such as bedbugs and rats, enduring poor or no maintenance, dealing with heating and cooling issues, and being subjected to a myriad of other problems resulting from the previous issues. The local housing authorities are unable or unwilling to address the chronic problems that compromise the tenants’ safety and put their lives at risk.

The number of public housing units has dramatically declined over the years while the numbers of unhoused families has increased. Emphasis is now on homeownership which stays out of reach for even working-class people. Given the history of utter failures, I think the federal government would shutter the Department of Housing and Urban Development if it could.

HUD’s policy on public housing is reflective of this country’s view of poor folks. Stop investing in viable solutions and maybe they will go away. College Court residents have the right to live in dignity, to live in safe and sanitary housing and to hold their officials accountable.

The Right to Adequate Living Standard including Housing and Healthcare is Article 25 in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This means it is not just the responsibility of tenants to fight for this right, it is the responsibility of all of us in a civilized society to uphold this basic right. These are human beings, not throwaways.