WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:00.180 --> 00:00:03.969 My name is Doris Brown and I'm a co-founder of the Northeast Action 00:00:03.990 --> 00:00:10.750 Collective, NAC for short, and on June the 25th of 2021 our grassroots groups 00:00:10.840 --> 00:00:17.049 along with Texas houses, filed a Title VI against the General Land Office. 00:00:17.110 --> 00:00:19.960 We filed this because of the historic discrimination of 00:00:19.960 --> 00:00:21.220 Black and Brown communities. 00:00:22.150 --> 00:00:26.139 We have flooded, our communities have flooded and we still are at risk. 00:00:26.650 --> 00:00:31.590 No one seems to address this and this has become a growing concern 00:00:31.590 --> 00:00:33.180 in the Black and Brown communities. 00:00:33.600 --> 00:00:39.450 We found out that we do not recover at the same rate as other communities and 00:00:39.450 --> 00:00:43.620 this is kind of distressing because this other quality of life has been changed. 00:00:44.665 --> 00:00:48.745 We no longer are able to walk out our houses when we have... 00:00:49.255 --> 00:00:53.605 and it does not need to be a flood or hurricane or anything serious like that. 00:00:53.785 --> 00:00:55.345 It could just be a hard rain. 00:00:55.795 --> 00:00:58.155 And we were just, we were just fed up with it. 00:00:58.155 --> 00:01:02.085 We wanted it addressed and we want it addressed directly. 00:01:02.085 --> 00:01:03.455 We want it to stop flooding. 00:01:03.555 --> 00:01:07.035 Our children want to be able to not walk in stagnant water, 00:01:07.065 --> 00:01:08.025 trying to catch the bus. 00:01:08.525 --> 00:01:14.455 Our seniors didn't want to continue let their lift rides go because they 00:01:14.455 --> 00:01:16.315 weren't able to get to their buses. 00:01:16.535 --> 00:01:21.755 On March the fourth, we received a ruling, sustaining our allegations 00:01:21.755 --> 00:01:27.155 of racial discrimination by the State of Texas General Land Office and 00:01:27.155 --> 00:01:33.035 directed the GLO to remedy unlawful actions,,, historic unlawful actions. 00:01:33.635 --> 00:01:38.248 So in other words, HUD found the GLO guilty of discrimination 00:01:38.308 --> 00:01:40.190 against Black and Brown communities. 00:01:40.240 --> 00:01:43.770 It found that we're steadly being discriminated on the 00:01:43.770 --> 00:01:46.230 basis of our race and our color. 00:01:46.650 --> 00:01:52.990 It just, it just begs them, the fact that we have historically been disinvested 00:01:53.010 --> 00:01:54.630 in our communities and neighborhoods. 00:01:55.510 --> 00:02:01.930 Even though we are grassroots groups, we feel justified by the findings of HUD. 00:02:02.825 --> 00:02:07.895 Texas Housers raised the objection to aspects of the plan for administering 00:02:07.895 --> 00:02:13.115 the program GLO developed in 2020, GLO announced the allocations in 00:02:13.115 --> 00:02:19.925 2021, and it was discriminating against Black and Brown communities. 00:02:20.495 --> 00:02:27.005 So Texas Housers, along with the Northeast Action Collective clearly objected to it 00:02:27.335 --> 00:02:32.715 and we pointed out clearly pointed out discriminatory criteria in the process. 00:02:32.925 --> 00:02:38.195 With the HUD new findings we are in hopes that we can get this problem solved. 00:02:38.345 --> 00:02:40.895 We can get this discrimination put behind us. 00:02:41.075 --> 00:02:47.945 We can get our neighborhood infrastructure abated so that we will not have to flood. 00:02:48.305 --> 00:02:49.595 We are tired of flooding. 00:02:50.735 --> 00:02:56.915 This is historic in itself moment for us because we have been fighting this fight 00:02:56.935 --> 00:02:59.045 for over four years and we are just... 00:02:59.645 --> 00:03:02.975 we just realized that we're just not going to stop until something good 00:03:02.975 --> 00:03:07.055 happens in our neighborhoods, until our kids don't have to walk through water. 00:03:07.265 --> 00:03:11.225 We have been raised in this fight for change. 00:03:11.435 --> 00:03:13.655 We want equity in our neighborhoods. 00:03:13.865 --> 00:03:20.465 We want to be not thought of as expendable neighborhoods anymore and 00:03:20.465 --> 00:03:26.345 we are proud and glad for this ruling because it shines a light in a dark 00:03:26.345 --> 00:03:30.095 place, the historic disinvestment of Black and Brown communities. 00:03:30.395 --> 00:03:30.965 Thank you.