DC racial justice plan may land nation’s capital as culprit in courtroom: expert

Washington, DC could soon find itself a defendant in a courtroom as it pushes ahead with a racial justice plan that critics say is unconstitutional.

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, established an advisory committee called the Black Homeownership Strike Force in June 2022 to “combat the racial wealth divide” by making recommendations to increase and support homeownership for black residents of the nation’s capital .

Bowser tasked the group with developing a plan to produce 20,000 new black homeowners by 2030. This led to a Report published by the Strike Force in October outlined a set of recommendations that the mayor’s office reviewed to determine their cost and legality.

Some of the recommendations included making homeownership available to black homebuyers, providing financial assistance to black homeowners who want to renovate their homes, and creating a program to help black homeowners who are unable to pay their mortgages.

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Bowser introduced her last week budget proposal for the next fiscal year and included $8 million in support of Strike Force recommendations and $10 million for a “Black Homeownership Fund” to sell homes to Black homebuyers.

Now it’s up to the DC City Council whether to do that approve the budget and present it to Congress. What the Council should do, however, is clear from one expert and advocate, arguing that the Strike Force’s recommendations are both counterproductive and unconstitutional.

The nation’s capital “could become a defendant in a courtroom under a constitutional charge” if it agrees to the recommendations, Pacific Legal Foundation’s Jack Brown told Fox News Digital.

Brown explained that while some of the Strike Force’s recommendations are “race-neutral,” many of the proposals would provide government benefits “specifically on the basis of race” — something he says is “contradictory” with the US Constitution. He noted that for decades the Supreme Court had ruled that the DC government could not engage in racial discrimination.

DC City Council Chairman Phil Mendelson testifies before the Oversight and Accountability Committee of the US House of Representatives on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on March 29, 2023. (Michael A. McCoy/For the Washington Post via Getty Images)

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“Even if you’re trying to address past discrimination, the government must present actual evidence of the discrimination and closely coordinate its actions to address those issues,” Brown said. “Against this background, comprehensive recommendations that openly favor one racial group would be legally problematic.”

Instead, Brown argued, if the DC government wants to improve housing for residents, it should pursue ideas such as reforming zoning laws and protecting homeowners from solicitation – some of which are included in the Strike Force’s recommendations – which “all help, especially those in need, “Not just one particular race.

Beyond the legal argument, Brown argued that the Strike Force’s recommendations undermine the notion of an equal society.

“The Council should reject the Strike Force’s proposals,” Brown wrote in a recent comment for The Hill. “Race politics undermines our nation’s long struggle to eradicate racial discrimination from public life and ensure that the United States remains a nation ‘dedicated to the affirmation that all human beings are created equal.'”

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks during a news conference November 9, 2022 in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, file)

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Brown added that the equal protections of law would be replaced by the dominance of justice, which prioritizes racial identity in decision-making and public policy.

Brown reiterated these points in his interview with Fox News Digital, questioning the wisdom of enacting race-based politics even when pursuing noble goals.

“I’m very skeptical of any race-based solution to these problems, especially if they stem from events and policies that happened a long time ago,” said Brown, then referring to the famous line of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. referring to a statement on an affirmative action case: “The way to end racial discrimination is to end racial discrimination.”

“Like Roberts, I don’t think we should discriminate based on race or period,” Brown said. “Everyone should be treated as an individual, for what they are, not based on something superficial like race.”

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Brown added that the Strike Force’s recommendations are consistent with DC’s draft Racial Justice Action Plan, the final version of which is expected to be released in spring. He argued that such thinking will lead to more government services based on race rather than necessity, citing the ongoing pressure in California to provide billions of dollars in reparations to its black residents as a prime example.

Bowser’s office and DC City Council Chairman Phil Mendelson did not respond to requests for comment on this story.