Ballot Measure Seeks to End Discrimination Based on Source of Rental Income in Lincoln, Nebraska

In Lincoln, Nebraska, housing advocates and national civic engagement organizations hope that a ballot measure in a May 6th special election can end the practice and allow tenants to tap into vital rent affordability assistance such as the federal Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program. In 2022, more than 2 million families nationwide used housing vouchers, rental assistance that subsidizes households’ rent. “Source of income discrimination is when someone is turned away from housing because of the way that they would pay for that housing,” said Kasey Ogle, a senior staff attorney at Appleseed Nebraska, an organization that advocates for just causes. “It is a common and pervasive practice to turn tenants away because of Section 8 housing vouchers.”

In the absence of federal protection for voucher holders, source of income discrimination has frequently served as a proxy for race, disability, and gender discrimination. According to the American Bar Association (ABA), some 66% of federal Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) recipients are Black or Latino; 26% of households with an HCV have at least one family member living with a disability; and 77% of HCV households are female headed. In St. Louis, Missouri, for example, 94% of HCV recipients identify as Black or African American: “A refusal to accept [HCVs] means African-Americans are disproportionately turned away from these housing providers” (Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing and Opportunity Council, Locked Out/Locked In: Section 8 Discrimination in St. Louis City, 2019). 

To codify source-of-income discrimination protections, Ogle and other advocates are working with national groups such as the Fairness Project, a nonprofit with a track record of effecting change through ballot measure initiatives. After the coalition crafted a persuasive message and outreach plan, it gathered more than 15,300 signatures to get source-of-income discrimination protections on the ballot. Lincoln’s City Council unanimously voted in early March to have the ballot proposition ready for voters.

Ogle said that the proposition amends the city’s ordinances on antidiscrimination laws to include lawful sources of income as a protected class in housing matters. The amendment also empowers the local equal employment opportunity commission investigative unit, the Lincoln Commission on Human Rights, to investigate and prosecute complaints of discrimination based on the source of income.

“About a third of people who get a housing choice voucher from the local housing authority have to return that voucher because they’re unable to find someplace that will rent to them using that voucher,” Ogle said. If tenants are unable to find a suitable home, the vouchers must be returned to the housing authority. Because Section 8 vouchers are annually renewed, the risk of not being able to remain in a home due to source of income discrimination is palpable. Sometimes the landlord has refused to renew a lease because they do not want to cooperate with the housing authority anymore, Ogle said. In Lincoln, the number of people without a home as of January 2025 rose by almost 10% from January 2024. Some of those displacements occurred due to almost 2,400 eviction filings last year in Lancaster County, where Lincoln is the county seat.

As of 2025, only 24 states (including Maryland) and roughly 180 municipalities have clear antidiscrimination laws based on source of income, with some others joining in, according to a recent policy memo from the Washington, D.C.-based Poverty and Race Research Action Council (PRRAC). For example, Kansas City, Missouri passed an ordinance in June 2024.

 These state laws and local ordinances have varying degrees of effectiveness. Only about 60% of voucher holders are protected against source-of-income discrimination, the PRRAC estimates. 

National advocates who helped get the Lincoln proposition on the ballot say propositions are a good way to get around legislative logjam. Kelly Hall, the executive director of the Fairness Project, said that local advocates tried to get the City Council in Lincoln to pass source-of-income discrimination protections. Hall said this ballot measure may get these protections across the finish line.

Read the April 16, 2025 Prism article.

Read the March 19, 2025 ABA American Bar Association article.

(Image courtesy of Kansas City, Missouri.)

New York State Attorney General's Office Stops Illegal Source of Income Housing Discrimination in the Albany Capital Region

 

New York Attorney General Letitia James has stopped two brothers and their spouses who own three rental buildings in the Capital Region from illegally denying housing opportunities to low-income renters. An investigation by the New York Office of the Attorney General (OAG), found that Greg and John Karian – who own or manage 24 rental units in buildings located in Glenmont, Albany, and Troy – violated New York’s human rights laws by refusing to rent to New Yorkers with housing vouchers. The Karians advertised that they do not accept Section 8 vouchers and charged exorbitant fees on late rent payments in violation of the law. As part of a settlement with OAG, the Karians and their employees must rent at least three units to applicants using housing vouchers, undergo anti-discrimination training, and take other actions to make housing more accessible for low-income renters.

Rental vouchers such as the Section 8 Housing Choice voucher program provide housing assistance to the lowest-income households to rent decent, safe housing in the private market. These programs also aid senior citizens and disabled persons on fixed incomes, displaced families, and homeless individuals with disabilities.

The OAG opened an investigation into the Karians’ alleged discrimination in September 2024 after online rental listings for their properties warned that they did not accept renters using Section 8. Throughout the investigation, OAG found multiple instances of discriminatory practices, including refusing to rent, lease, or negotiate with prospective tenants who intended to pay for some or all of their rent with housing subsidies; advertising that their rental properties do not accept Section 8 housing vouchers; and charging exorbitant fees of $100 for late rental payments.

The settlement with OAG requires the Karians: (1) to rent at least three units to applicants who use a housing subsidy within the next year, and must also renew the lease of these tenants for at least a one-year term, provided the tenant elects to renew; (2) to attend anti-discrimination training and implement an anti-discrimination policy to distribute to everyone involved in the rental process at their properties; (3) to publicly advertise their acceptance of Section 8 and other housing subsidies by placing an “Equal Housing Opportunity” sign at each of their properties and indicate they are an “Equal Housing Opportunity Provider” on any advertisement, listing, or social media post; (4) to provide OAG with copies of the application, lease, and renewal lease of any applicant or tenant who pays for all or some of their rent with housing subsidies and must update their lease to limit late fees to 5% of the monthly rent or $50, whichever is lower, and solely one late fee may be charged per month; and (5) to pay $3,000 in penalties and $6,000 more if they do not comply with the terms of OAG’s agreement.

It is illegal in New York State for any owner, managing agent, broker, or any other representative to refuse to rent, sell, or lease housing to any person based on their source of income. New Yorkers who suspect they are victims of source of income discrimination are encouraged to file a complaint online.

Read the April 15, 2025 New York State Attorney General's office press release.

New York Attorney General Sues Payday Lending Companies for Exploiting Workers with Illegal Loans

 

New York Attorney General Letitia James has sued payday lenders MoneyLion Inc. (MoneyLion) and DailyPay, Inc. (DailyPay) for taking advantage of tens of thousands of New Yorkers with illegal high-interest loans that violate New York usury laws. The Attorney General's office alleges that both MoneyLion and DailyPay make paycheck advance loans to hourly workers in exchange for fees and tips, pretending to simply be advancing “earned” wages. Due to the short terms of the loans, the fees MoneyLion and DailyPay charge amount to outrageous annual interest rates in the triple digits, frequently up to 750%. Both payday lenders also engage in abusive tactics that push workers to frequently take out new loans to cover gaps created by their prior loans. With these lawsuits, Attorney General James is seeking to stop MoneyLion and DailyPay’s illegal payday lending practices in New York, obtain restitution for thousands of impacted workers, and impose civil penalties.

In a typical transaction with DailyPay or MoneyLion, a worker receives a small amount in advance of their paycheck (usually less than $100) and repays that amount, plus fees and tips, in 7-10 days. The result is an extremely high annualized interest rate ranging between 200-350% on average, but rates for these short-term loans can reach much higher. For example, DailyPay’s most common loan, a seven-day $20 paycheck advance offered for $2.99 actually reflects an annual interest rate of over 750%. Over half of all MoneyLion loans impose annual interest rates above 500%.

Attorney General James also alleges that both companies employ deceptive advertising to entice workers into taking out their exploitative loans. MoneyLion promises instant access to funds, 0% interest rate, and a fee-free product. Actually, it charges mandatory fees for all loans where funds are immediately available, which can be as high as $8.99 for a $100 advance scheduled to be repaid in two weeks from when the loan is issued. This reflects an annual interest rate of 234%. To extract even more money from its customers, MoneyLion asks for tips on top of its fees and establishes an artificial limit of $100 per transaction that forcing workers to take out repeat loans and pay repeat fees just to receive the $500 they are promised in MoneyLion’s advertisements.

It is alleged that DailyPay engages in similar fraudulent and deceptive practices. It contracts with employees’ companies, requiring employers to send their workers’ paychecks directly to the lenders first on payday, which allows it to deduct all amounts it is owed before passing on any remaining balance to employees. While it promises workers interest-free advances and financial benefits, DailyPay collects fees on about 90% of its loans.

DailyPay filed a federal lawsuit last week against AG Letitia James, seeking to block the state’s action.

Read the April 14, 2025 NY State Attorney General press release.

Read the April 15, 2025 PaymentsDive article.

Obituary: The Reverend Joan Brown Campbell, Social & Civil Rights Activist Who Led U.S. Church Councils, 93

 

The Rev. Campbell once divided the White congregation of her church by inviting the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to speak and then decades later - as a minister in King’s denomination - rose to lead an influential national alliance of churches. As general secretary of the National Council of Churches (NCC) - a group linking dozens of Christian denominations with over 40 million worshipers - Rev. Campbell endorsed priorities such as battling climate change and expanding health care that often spilled over into wider political debates.

From 1991 to 2000, she went on missions such as accompanying the Rev. Jesse Jackson to Serbia in 1999 to gain the release of three U.S. soldiers, captured on a patrol amid a NATO bombing campaign seeking to halt ethnic bloodshed during the breakup of Yugoslavia. She also was at the center of partisan and cultural shifts that strained the coalition of mainline Protestants, traditionally Black churches (such as the African Methodist Episcopal Church), and Orthodox traditions such as Greek and Assyrian. In response, Rev. Campbell formed a political lobbying group, the Interfaith Alliance. 

In 1965 at her church in the Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights, she was juggling dual roles as a mother raising three children and as a local activist, her home became a hub for groups supporting the civil rights movement and opposing the Vietnam War. During a visit by King to Cleveland, he met briefly with Rev. Campbell and mentioned offhand that he had never been invited to speak at a mostly White church in the area. She suggested he come to the Heights Christian Church, where she was belonged to the congregation. Some church members felt honored to host King, but other members rejected him, claiming the presence of the civil rights leader was too politically charged and divisive. Bomb threats were made targeting Rev. Campbell’s home. Eventually, a compromise was reached for King to speak on the church steps. “There were at least 3,000 people there to hear him, and that would have never been true had it been inside the church,” Rev. Campbell said. 

King told the crowd: “Without brotherhood, we can’t survive.” On a nearby sidewalk, white-nationalist protesters marched against him. The showdown inspired Rev. Campbell to expand her activism, including working on the 1967 Cleveland mayoral campaign of Carl B. Stokes, who became the city’s first Black mayor.

She was ordained in 1980 by the Progressive National Baptist Convention, a denomination rooted in the civil rights movement whose members included King and Ralph Abernathy. Rev. Campbell’s ordination was later recognized by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the American Baptist Churches. She served as executive director of the U.S. office of the World Council of Churches, the umbrella group for national Christian church coalitions internationally. In 1986, she was the only woman among the clergy in the procession for Desmond Tutu when he became the Anglican Church archbishop in Cape Town. Rev. Campbell was elected in 1990 to lead the NCC, becoming the first ordained woman to head the group.

At a 1997 memorial service for the astronomer Carl Sagan, with whom Rev. Campbell had helped found the National Religious Partnership for the Environment, she recalled an exchange they had. “He would say to me, ‘You are so smart, why do you believe in God?’” she said. “And I’d say, ‘You are so smart, why don’t you believe in God?’” Her honors include the Interfaith Alliance Foundation’s Walter Cronkite Faith and Freedom Award in 2010 for promoting tolerance and public dialogue. Her book, Living into Hope: A Call to Spiritual Action for Such a Time as This was published in 2010 (Nashville, Tennessee: SkyLight Paths).

Rev. Campbell also served for 14 years as director of religion at the Chautauqua Institution, a retreat in western New York. In a 2012 sermon, alluding to her past activism, she urged the congregation to recognize their role in fighting for social justice. “I believe that it is in times of uncertainty,” she said, “when we question our thoughts and decisions, that God can enter our lives.”

Read the April 11, 2025 Washington Post obituary.

Read the April 10, 2025 New York Times obituary.

Presbyterians Join Push for 'Moral Budget' in Washington; Repairers of the Breach and Supporters want to Preserve Safety net for Children and Other Vulnerable Members of Society

 

The Presbyterian Office of Public Witness stood in solidarity with Repairers of the Breach recently as the latter held a prayer and protest rally in Washington, D.C. to decry proposed budget cuts that it says would be detrimental to women, children and other marginalized people. Supporters gathered outside the U.S. Supreme Court on April 2nd for the second “Moral Witness Wednesday” by Repairers of the Breach, a faith-based, anti-poverty organization trying to keep Congress from adopting a budget that it says would weaken the social safety net while benefitting the rich. 

In March, the advocacy group emphasized its concerns in a report “The High Moral Stakes of the Policy Battles Raging in Washington,” and the rally was accompanied by the release of a new appendix that says the U.S. president’s “allies in Congress are in the process of passing a budget that would take services away from women and children, tear immigrant families apart, and perpetuate war.”

“This budget is a betrayal of every sacred tradition that teaches us to care for the widow, to care for the orphan, to care for the stranger, to care for the poor,” said the Rev. Dr. Hannah Broome, director of religious affairs for Repairers of the Breach. “See, you don't need to be a Christian to hear the warning of the prophet Isaiah (10:1-2)  when he says, ‘Woe to those who make unjust laws.’ You only need a conscience.”

In his remarks, Barber said the cuts would hurt several vulnerable groups, including children, older people and LGBTQIA+ persons, and called for “a movement across America.” “Now is the time that we must do whatever it requires in our nonviolent traditions,” Barber said. “If we have to sit in, let’s sit in. If we have to march, let’s march. If we have to engage in nonviolent civil, direct action and disobedience, let's do it. Our future is worth it. We must do collective action together. We will not let this democracy fail on our watch.”

“The re-launch of Moral Wednesdays by the Poor People’s Campaign and Repairers of the Breach is one way people of faith can take a stand and move their prayers to be a prophetic witness in the public square,” Cosby said. Speakers at last week's rally included John Cavanagh of the Institute for Policy Studies, a partner on the report with Repairers of the Breach and the Economic Policy Institute. The rally was followed by a march to the Capitol building, where a prayer circle was formed. (See video here.)

“As people of faith, we must pray alongside impacted communities, and our prayers must not stay inside our sanctuaries,” Cosby said. “It is vital that they move to public action, calling for a budget that protects programs, people and the planet over profits.”

For more information about Moral Witness Wednesday, go here.

Read the April 7, 2025 Presbyterian News Service article.

(Photo courtesy of the PC(USA) Office of Public Witness.)

NCRC Statement: Vacating Settlement Of Flagrantly Racist Townstone Financial Conduct Is Disgraceful

In response to the Trump administration’s attempt to vacate the Townstone Financial settlement and return the $105,000 fine levied to resolve it, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition released the following statement from President and CEO Jesse Van Tol.

It is absurd to walk away from a positive settlement in a cut-and-dried case of openly racist practices from a mortgage lender. And it is disturbing and disgusting to see Director Vought pretend that the case was brought “with zero evidence.

When your CEO goes on his company radio show and slanders Black neighborhoods as “scary” “jungles” that are “packed [with] people from all over the world” who participate in “hoodlum weekends,” your company is being very clear: There are places they won’t lend, and the reason is that those places have lots of non-White people living in them.

We know a company that markets itself through such shockingly open racism is determined to discourage Black customers from even calling.

Townstone got what it wanted: Compared to other lenders serving the area, the company received far fewer applications from Black borrowers.

Pretending this was anything other than gutter racism is ugly.

And using the power of the American people’s government to also hand money back to the man who wielded his financial power in such disgraceful fashion is a stain on us all.

For more background on the Townstone case, see here.

For more coverage of the Trump administration’s handling of the settlement, see here.

Source: March 27, 2025 NCRC article.

NCRC Statement On Trump Administration Withdrawal Of 2023 Community Reinvestment Act Final Rule

 

In response to the Trump administration’s announcement that it intends to withdraw the 2023 Community Reinvestment Act final rule, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) released the following statement from President and CEO Jesse Van Tol:

“We’re very disappointed to see the Trump administration rescind the CRA rule. The bipartisan 2023 CRA rule was reached after years of engagement and input from banks and advocates alike, with major compromises and concessions. The rule would have brought the law into the 21st century, closed major gaps that allow banks to avoid investing in underserved areas both rural and urban, and created greater investments in affordable housing, small business development and community services – all desperately needed in this time.

“CRA has been the cornerstone of the affordable housing and community development finance infrastructure, motivating trillions of dollars of investment over its lifespan. The Administration had the opportunity to embrace the new rule as a major win for working class people. Now the cynics within the industry who have been throwing a three-year tantrum over these modest modernization efforts will find out whether the regulatory chaos they’ve won is really a world they want to operate in.”

Read the March 28, 2025 NCRC release.