Domestic Violence Win for Black Women Tenants in Pennsylvania

By Carla Murphy Sep 09, 2014

The city of Norristown, Pennsylvania, is awarding $495,000 to resident Lakisha Briggs who faced eviction from her home after calling cops one too many times on her abusive boyfriend. The city will also repeal the law allowing landlords to evict tenants who request police assistance at least three times in four months. According to an August 2013 New York Times article, in one Milwaukee study of similar laws–often called "nuisance" or "crime-free property" ordinances–domestic violence was involved in nearly one-third of the cases and rentals in largely black communities were disproportionately singled out. The ordinance, in practice, punishes domestic violence victims for crimes occurring in their homes, the ACLU said in a statement yesterday.

Read more about the dangers Lakisha Briggs survived on the ACLU Web site and at Patriot-News.