Recapping Donald’s Day of New Housing Discrimination Revelations

Yesterday, Donald Trump suffered a day of new revelations and reporting on his real estate company’s history of  discrimination against black families. Mother Jones and NBC News published new reports on an additional racial discrimination suit from the 1980’s, as well as a disturbing anecdote in which Trump stood by his  father as he used the “N”-word and directed employees to put applications from aspiring black tenants “in a drawer.” The Las Vegas Sun reported on a local woman who served as a housing discrimination tester who, in her words, was “the right color” for a Trump apartment. And just today, the New York Observer exposed some of the aggressive and troubling tactics Trump’s lawyers used to discredit black individuals who wanted to rent in his buildings, including questioning their political affiliations and sexual activity.

Hillary for America also released a new video telling the story of Mae Brown Wiggins, a registered nurse who was turned away from an apartment Trump managed because of her skin color. The video is narrated by Senator Tim Kaine, who spent 17 years as a civil rights lawyer fighting housing discrimination–a stark contrast with Trump, who got his start managing apartment buildings that discriminated against African American renters.

Contrary to Trump’s claims, this level of discrimination was not common practice. The Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Donald Trump and his father and was “one of the strongest cases the Justice Department had ever seen for violations of the Fair Housing Act.”

Donald Trump must be held to account for his history of racial discrimination.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Mother Jones: Here’s Another Time a Trump Company Was Sued for Discriminating Against Black People: “Nor did [Trump] mention another relevant fact, which has not received prominent coverage during the current presidential campaign: just as the Trumps’ standoff with the Justice Department was winding down, their real estate business was hit by a group of similar lawsuits for again allegedly discriminating against black New Yorkers looking for apartments.”

• “In April 1982, the Open Housing Center, a fair housing advocacy outfit, filed class action lawsuits against several landlords and real estate brokers on behalf of nine African Americans who had been denied apartments in Queens.”

TIME: Hillary Clinton Campaign Video Highlights Trump Housing Discrimination Case: “An emotional new campaign video for Hillary Clinton highlights reports of discriminatory rental practices by Donald Trump’s business that led to a 1973 Justice Department lawsuit. The video, released Tuesday, features Mae Brown Wiggins, who shares her story of being denied an apartment in one of Trump’s New York City buildings ‘based on the color of my skin.’”

• Mae Brown Wiggins: “‘I felt very, very angry,’ Wiggins says in the video, wiping tears from her eyes. ‘So much so that it still evokes—it still evokes anger and hurt. Deep, deep hurt.’”

Las Vegas Sun: Henderson woman shares story as housing discrimination tester at Trump property: “A Henderson woman is coming forward to share her story as a housing discrimination tester at one of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s properties in the 1970s.”

• Sheila Morse: “She said that when she said she would take the apartment, the superintendent was ‘thrilled’ and said he would have the lease ready the next day. ‘I guess I was the right color and the gentleman was the wrong color,’ Morse said.”

NBC News: ‘Not Wanted’: Black Applicants Rejected for Trump Housing Speak Out

• Annette Gandy Fortt: “In 1973, New York City school teacher Annette Gandy Fortt was looking for a decent place to live. A listing for an apartment in a building owned by Donald Trump’s father, Fred, caught her eye — but she says the super told her there were no units available. ‘I was black,’ Fortt said recently. ‘I was not wanted.’”
• Maxine Brown: “The breadth of the allegations doesn’t surprise Maxine Brown, who applied for an apartment in a Queens building owned by Fred Trump in 1963. ‘I was turned away because of my color,’ said Brown, 86, whose account was first reported by the New York Times in August.”
• Stanley Leibowitz, former Trump rental agent who took Ms. Brown’s application: “‘Mr. Trump and his son Donald came into the office. I asked what I should do with this application because she’s calling constantly and his response to me was, ‘You know I don’t rent to the N-word. Put it in a drawer and forget about it,’’ Leibowitz, 89, told NBC News.”

WATCH the segment on NBC News’ reporting on last night’s Rachel Maddow Show.

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Clinton Campaign’s Answer to Trump’s Question to the African American Community

Hillary for America responded to a speech given today by Donald Trump in Michigan. Their full response is below.

Clinton Campaign’s Answer to Trump’s Question to the African American Community

Today during a rally in Michigan, Donald Trump asked the African American community “What do you have to lose? You’re living in poverty. Your Schools are no good. You have no jobs.” Hillary for America Director of State Campaigns and Political Engagement Marlon Marshall has an answer for Trump:

“Donald Trump asks what the African American community has to lose by voting for him. The answer is everything from a man who questions the citizenship of the first African American President, courts white supremacists, and has been sued for housing discrimination against communities of color.

“Trump painting the entire community as living in poverty with no jobs continues to show he is completely out of touch with the African American community.”

BACKGROUND:

TRUMP WAS TWICE SUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FOR DISCRIMINATING IN HOUSING

October 1973: The Justice Department Filed A Civil Rights Case Against Trump Management Inc. For Discriminating Against Blacks And Puerto Ricans. “The employees allegedly directed blacks and Puerto Ricans away from buildings with mostly white tenants, and steered them toward properties that had many minorities, the government filings alleged. In October 1973, the Justice Department filed a civil rights case that accused the Trump firm, whose complexes contained 14,000 apartments, of violating the Fair Housing Act of 1968.” [Washington Post, 1/23/16]

• According To Federal Investigators, Trump Employees Marked Applications From Minorities With “C” For “Colored.” “Federal investigators also gathered evidence. Trump employees had secretly marked the applications of minorities with codes, such as ‘No. 9’ and ‘C’ for ‘colored,’ according to government interview accounts filed in federal court.” [Washington Post, 1/23/16]

New York Times’ Nicholas Kristof: The Government Amassed “Overwhelming Evidence” The Trumps Discriminated Against Blacks And The Trumps Were Forced To Settle, But The Government Sued Them Again Three Years Later When They Continued To Discriminate. “I’ve waded through 1,021 pages of documents from that legal battle, and they are devastating. Donald Trump was then president of the family real estate firm, and the government amassed overwhelming evidence that the company had a policy of discriminating against blacks, including those serving in the military… Donald Trump furiously fought the civil rights suit in the courts and the media, but the Trumps eventually settled on terms that were widely regarded as a victory for the government. Three years later, the government sued the Trumps again, for continuing to discriminate.” [Nicholas Kristof, New York Times, 7/23/16]

TRUMP’S DEFENSE WHEN ACCUSED OF DISCRIMINATING IN HOUSING WAS THAT HE JUST DID NOT WANT TO “RENT TO WELFARE CASES”

Donald Trump Argued That The Company Had Wanted To Avoid Renting Apartments To Welfare Recipients, But Had Not Discriminated By Race. “The younger Trump demonstrated the brash, combative style that would make him famous, holding forth at a news conference in a Manhattan hotel to decry the government’s arguments as ‘such outrageous lies.’ He would also say that the company wanted to avoid renting apartments to welfare recipients of any color but never discriminated based on race.” [Washington Post, 1/23/16]

• Trump: “What We Didn’t Do Was Rent To Welfare Cases, White Or Black.” “‘What we didn’t do was rent to welfare cases, white or black,’ Trump wrote in his 1987 autobiography.” [Washington Post, 1/23/16]

TRUMP QUESTIONED PRESIDENT OBAMA’S RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND WHETHER OR NOT HE WAS BORN IN THE UNITED STATES

Trump On President Obama: “He Doesn’t Have A Birth Certificate. He May Have One But There’s Something On That Maybe Religion, Maybe It Says He Is A Muslim… Or He May Not Have One.” O’REILLY: “Do you think it’s an important subject?” TRUMP: “Listen, I have a birth certificate. I have my birth certificate. And in fact, they said the one I gave yesterday wasn’t good enough. So I actually got the one from the Health Department which is a perfect one. Because they were saying the one I gave yesterday wasn’t good enough so I got the other. People have birth certificates. He doesn’t have a birth certificate. He may have one but there’s something on that maybe religion, maybe it says he is a Muslim. Maybe he doesn’t want that. Or he may not have one. But I will tell you this. If he wasn’t born in this country it’s one of the great scams of all time.” [O’Reilly Factor, Fox News, 3/30/11]

WHITE SUPREMACISTS ARE USING TRUMP’S CANDIDACY AS A RECRUITING TOOL

HEADLINE: “White Nationalists See Advancement Through Donald Trump’s Candidacy.” [Wall Street Journal, 5/17/16]

Politico: “Stormfront, The Most Prominent American White Supremacist Website, Is Upgrading Its Servers In Part To Cope With A Trump Traffic Spike.” [Politico, 12/10/15]

HEADLINE: “Virginia KKK Leader Endorses Trump: ‘What He Believes In, We Believe In’” [Talking Points Memo, 4/30/16]

TRUMP REFUSED TO DISAVOW DAVID DUKE AND THE KLAN FOUR TIMES IN ONE INTERVIEW

Trump Refused To Condemn David Duke And The KKK Four Times In One Interview, Claiming He Did Not “Know Anything About David Duke.” “On the Sunday morning talk shows, Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump refused to condemn endorsements from a prominent white supremacist and former KKK leader, and said he retweeted a Mussolini quote because ‘it’s a very good quote.’… Trump refused to condemn that endorsement or say he didn’t want the support of white supremacists — four times. ‘I don’t know anything about David Duke. I don’t know what you’re even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacist. I don’t know. I don’t know, did he endorse me, or what’s going on?’ he said.” [NPR, 2/28/16]

• Trump Claimed He Could Not Condemn The KKK Because He Knew “Nothing” And It Would Be Unfair To Condemn Groups That Were “Totally Fine.”  TRUMP: “You wouldn’t want me to condemn a group that I know nothing about. I would have to look. If you would send me a list of the groups, I will do research on them. And, certainly, I would disavow if I thought there was something wrong.” TAPPER: “The Ku Klux Klan?” TRUMP: “But you may have groups in there that are totally fine, and it would be very unfair. So, give me a list of the groups, and I will let you know.” [State Of The Union, CNN, 2/28/16]

TRUMP ON BEING SUPPORTED BY WHITE SUPREMACISTS: “A LOT OF PEOPLE LIKE ME”

Trump On Being Supported By White Supremacist Groups: “A Lot Of People Like Me.” HEILEMANN: “But if you read this story and read a lot of people who are white, and organized white supremacist groups talking ebulliently about you, talking why they about — why they like you so much, would that trouble you at all? Does that give you pause, make you wonder about your message?” TRUMP: “Honestly, John, I would have to read the story. A lot of people like me.” [Bloomberg TV, 8/26/15]

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News Source: CNN