Pryor: Marion County discriminatory lending practices confirmed by new report, General Assembly must act

INDIANAPOLIS - State Representative Cherrish Pryor (D-Indianapolis) released the following statement in response to the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana’s report on mortgage lending in Marion County:

“I am grateful for the thoughtful work from the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana (FHCCI) in putting together their recent report highlighting disparities in mortgage lending practices in Marion County and the long-term effects communities of color continue to experience.

“As a long-time advocate for fair-housing practices, I look forward to using this information to support data-driven policy during the 2022 session. We know the effects of unfair housing practices affect families for generations, contributing to the racial wealth-gap and limiting opportunities for socioeconomic mobility.

“The report lays out Black homeownership rates in Marion County have declined nearly 30% in the last 50 years. This decrease is due to historical discriminatory lending practices like redlining, inflated interest rates and people being priced out of their homes due to rising property taxes.

“Fixing the disparities that continue to exist requires us to confront our history. The FHCCI report is a valuable tool for informing policy makers about the gaps that continue to exist in Indiana’s fair housing policies and a path toward solutions.

“I plan to introduce legislation in the 2002 session that will protect long-time homeowners from rising property taxes in areas undergoing revitalization and ensure homeowners receive fair assessments on their homes. 

“As housing inventory in our state decreases and more people are being priced out of their homes, the Indiana General Assembly needs to support innovative policies that will keep a roof over Hoosiers’ heads. It is time to level the playing field and make home-ownership and its resulting advantages equally available to all.”