As we prepare to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, it’s important to pause and reflect not only on Dr. King’s national legacy, but also on the work he did in my hometown of Chicago that continues to shape lives, opportunities and generational progress today.
Dr. King’s Chicago campaign and the fight for fair housing
During the Civil Rights Movement, the Chicago Freedom Movement took place from 1965 to 1967. Dr. King co-led this campaign with local activists to confront racial discrimination, segregation, and housing inequities in one of America’s largest cities. Unlike the Jim Crow laws of the South, segregation in Chicago was often enforced through policy, lending practices and real estate discrimination rather than explicit laws.
Black and brown families were systematically denied access to quality housing, mortgage coverage and neighborhoods with adequate schools and resources. Redlining, restrictive covenants and predatory lending practices kept Black and brown residents confined to overcrowded and underfunded areas, many of them public housing projects like the ones I grew up in.
Dr. King understood that housing was not just about where people lived; it was about safety, education, health and economic opportunity. To make that point clear, he and his family moved into a project apartment on Chicago’s West Side. Dr. King put himself directly into the lived reality of the people he was fighting for.
The Chicago Freedom Movement organized marches, rallies and protests demanding open housing and equal access to neighborhoods. Participants faced hostility, violence and resistance, particularly when marching through segregated white neighborhoods. Dr. King later stated that he encountered some of the most intense racism of his life during these Chicago marches, yet he did not retreat.
From protest to policy: The Fair Housing Act
That fight laid critical groundwork for one of the most important pieces of civil rights legislation in U.S. history: the Fair Housing Act of 1968. Tragically, the act was signed into law just one week after Dr. King’s assassination. His death shocked the nation, but it also helped lawmakers to finally pass legislation that had been stalled for years.
The Fair Housing Act made it illegal to discriminate in the sale, rental and financing of housing based on race, color, religion and national origin (later expanded to include sex, disability and familial status). While the law did not instantly erase housing inequality, it cracked open doors that had been sealed shut for generations. For many families, including mine, that change was personal.
A grandmother’s march, a granddaughter’s home
I was born and raised in the Chicago housing projects. The Lathrop Housing projects (Julia C. Lathrop Homes) and many others within Chicago were communities filled with resilience, culture, and love, but also shaped by neglect and limited opportunity.
My grandmother, GOD rest her soul, attended the very marches led by Dr. King. She shared stories of him and the whole experience during that time. Stories that shaped how I understand the sacrifice she made and the progress we’ve made in these neighborhoods.
Her participation wasn’t just history; it was a direct investment in my future. Because of the fight for fair housing, because of Dr. King’s willingness to confront injustice head-on, I stand here today as a single woman of color who owns property in Chicago. That outcome was not accidental; it was earned through struggle, protest and lives laid on the line. That is how legacy works!
A living legacy
Dr. King did not fight so his name could be quoted once a year. He fought so that access to opportunity would no longer be determined by zip code or skin color. He fought so that homeownership would be a primary vehicle for wealth building in America and would no longer be reserved for a select few.
When we celebrate MLK Day, we should remember that his work in Chicago directly challenged systems that still affect housing, fair lending and equity today. We honor him not just with words, but by understanding the policies he helped change and by continuing to push for fairness in our communities.
Homeownership has changed my life, and as we move forward, may we recognize that the freedoms we enjoy are not coincidences, but consequences of courageous action. So, thank you, Dr. King. Your fight lives on in our homes, our families and our futures.
Dalila Ramos is the founder of Taco Tuesday Talks.
English (US) · 