He was furious! How could they deny him AGAIN? Harry Belafonte had sold millions of records and had the bank account to prove it. But still, Manhattan landlords kept refusing him.
Despite his fame, white supremacy was relentless.
In 1958, housing was rife with racist landlords who refused to rent to Black people.
But Mr. Belafonte not only had money, he had an extremely clever trick up his sleeve.
First, he sent his white publicist to get the rental paperwork in his place. But someone told the building manager that a Black tenant had moved in, and within hours they forced him to leave.
So he went bigger. He set up a fake real estate company and bought the entire building! Belafonte moved right in, and some of his friends did too. Like Lena Horne, who was also struggling to rent a place.
Although the Fair Housing Act exists today, this STILL happens. We experience housing discrimination when renting and especially when investing in a home.
Abena Horton experienced this first-hand when an appraiser low-balled her family's Florida home. The value shot up on the reappraisal after she removed family portraits and Black books from their house!
Racism remains ingrained in every part of our society, and housing inequality is still happening. Like Belafonte, sometimes we may have to get creative to beat this system!