Let’s get ready for the start of the Colorado General Assembly with a review of two issues likely to dominate time during the session: housing and race. There’s a crux between the two that should be at the forefront of legislation to increase housing accessibility and eliminate race-based housing discrimination.

It’s well-documented that housing discrimination based on race has had many bad effects. Before the 1950s, many housing developments used covenants that overtly prevented Black and Asian Americans from buying homes in the designated subdivisions.

For example, here is language used in legal covenants signed by elected county officials in Colorado: “No tract shall at any time be owned or occupied by any person or persons of Mongolian or Negro races.” Alternative language, also signed by elected county officials, affirmed: “No persons of any other race than the Caucasian race shall use or occupy any lot.” Before 1950, about 85% of housing developments in Jefferson County contained this language.

While this language is no longer enforceable, it remains a relic on deeds and plats. It’s also a current scar on opportunity and wealth accumulation. White families in the 1950s benefited greatly from inexpensive single-family homes underwritten by the Veterans Administration and Federal Housing Authority (FHA), but inaccessible to Black citizens. These homes provided equity for higher education and retirement. That money moves from one generation to the next. That’s the point of “accumulation.”

The FHA exacerbated the pain of Black Americans with its mortgaging and zoning policies. Its discriminatory practices occurred into the 1970s and included requirements that FHA housing developments such as Levittown in New York could not offer mortgages or sell homes to Black buyers.

Zoning rules, limited mostly to fire protection before the 1910s, turned against minorities by constraining housing developments to single-family homes with mortgage and covenant barriers to Black or Asian families to buy those homes.

Zoning had other deleterious impacts by pushing Black and other minorities into living in areas of greater industrial development. Today, the impacts are clear in the proximity of the Suncor Refinery to homes in Commerce City and North Denver, as an example. It’s ironic indeed that today’s energy industry has taken a non-discriminatory position on its development by pushing oil and gas drilling close to single-family homes in suburban and ex-urban neighborhoods.

Other government policies that affect minority home ownership in particular include growth restrictions, especially in communities where single-family homes are the norm. Home values increase when growth is restricted. When mortgage access is also limited, the negative impact on minorities seeking to own their residence intensifies.

So here we are now in a state where home prices have risen in the 15% range year-over-year. Average home prices are in the $3,000-$4,000 range, now beyond the reach of many Coloradans who aren’t currently homeowners. But younger Whites are much more likely to have access to home buying support through the equity in their parents’ homes. Minority families in general and Blacks in particular don’t have that fall-back.

Some points come to mind. First, counties, particularly in the low-water Front Range, have to get past restrictive zoning that prohibits multi-family dwellings. This change is important for water use as well as increasing access to affordable housing.

Second, if housing units are assigned as low-income units, they should not be eligible for resale at market value as has happened with programs in Denver.

Third, this history of discrimination – thoroughly documented by many government, academic, and journalistic sources – must be integrated into our education programs in American history, civics and geography classes.

Many of us grew up in segregated neighborhoods. As children we didn’t know why. It just was. Now we know what created or exacerbated segregation. It wasn’t just people choosing to live with their “own.” Laws, covenants, FHA mortgage requirements and zoning in many cases caused segregation or reinforced divided communities. Unfortunately, these were the “values” of recent times. These facts must not be buried.

Expect legislation to address housing shortages, affordability and access. It’s critical that this legislation pass through a different lens from years past. Now, affordability and accessibility must genuinely be available to all citizens.

Paula Noonan owns Colorado Capitol Watch, the state’s premier legislature tracking platform.