President Donald Trump's caustic tweets about Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., and his home city of Baltimore were not only factually incorrect and racist, but they also ignore a glaring reality: even if African American neighborhoods in Baltimore were in the horrific condition that Trump described, the cause would be more than a century of racist policies, not a lack of focus from the local black congressman. Nowhere is this clearer than in housing policies that have left our cities deeply segregated and inequitable.
Baltimore has been plagued by racist housing policies and their legacy for more than a century.