Why Address the Long-Term Homelessness Crisis Among Black American Families in New Jersey?
- Karen Brittingham-Edmond
- Oct 8
- 4 min read
October 8, 2025
Social Justice/Discrimination
Annual investigations reveal a troubling pattern of homelessness affecting Black families in New Jersey, rooted in systemic legal and social inequities. A 2024 report highlights that thousands of eviction filings in the state exhibit legal deficiencies, rendering many notices invalid and, in some cases, potentially fraudulent if enforced. The majority of landlords—predominantly White males, including those of Italian, Jewish, Asian Indian, and Hispanic descent who identify as white on census polls—have demonstrated a historical bias against Black Americans. These landlords frequently retain legal counsel or political alliances from similar backgrounds, which perpetuates barriers for Black American families, particularly those who are poor or working poor citizens, including homemaker's whether they are employed or not, because raising children is a full-time job, seriously.
The economic landscape has failed to keep pace with the cost of living since the Reagan administration in 1981, exacerbating the vulnerability of Black families' rights plus living standards. According to "Advocates Shine Light on Rash of Deficient Evictions In NJ," an article by Jake Maher published by Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (a 501(c)(3) organization on December 6, 2024, an estimated 29,000 tenants or families are evicted annually in New Jersey in cases that should have been dismissed due to legally deficient complaints. This data is corroborated by the Housing Justice Project, Lowenstein Sandler LLP's Lowenstein Center for the Public Interest, and Volunteer Lawyers for Justice.
Under New Jersey law, specifically N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1 et seq. (the Anti-Eviction Act), landlords must strictly comply with statutory requirements when seeking to evict tenants. Failure to provide proper notice, cite valid grounds for eviction, or follow procedural mandates can result in dismissal of the eviction action. The New Jersey Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed the necessity of strict compliance in cases such as Chase Manhattan Bank v. Joseph, 120 N.J. 295 (1990), and Carteret Properties v. Variety Donuts, Inc., 49 N.J. 116 (1967).
The consequences of these evictions are severe. Black citizen adults and children released from incarceration for minor offenses often face re-incarceration due to homelessness, having lost employment while imprisoned as a result of punitive fines. These fines, crafted by policymakers with longstanding prejudices rooted in White supremacy, further entrench racial disparities. As a result, many Black children are placed in foster care, where they endure additional trauma from cultural dislocation and family separation, compounding the harm caused by societal neglect and racial stereotyping.
Federal law also provides protections against discriminatory housing practices. The Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq., prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Violations of these statutes may give rise to civil liability and enforcement actions by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Legal Deficiencies in New Jersey Eviction Proceedings
A legal deficiency refers to a defect or error in the eviction process that invalidates a landlord’s attempt to remove a tenant. Such deficiencies may arise in the initial eviction notice or subsequent court filings, and can result in the dismissal, delay, or reversal of the eviction action. Under N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.2, proper notice must be served to the tenant, and any deviation from statutory requirements may be grounds for dismissal. Additionally, Rule 4:6-2 of the New Jersey Court Rules allows tenants to challenge complaints that fail to state a valid cause of action.
The repercussions of these evictions are profound. Black adults and children released from incarceration for minor offenses frequently experience re-incarceration due to the loss of their family homes, as family members are forcibly displaced by gentrification for economic reasons. Furthermore, employment opportunities for Black adults are diminished as a result of minor imprisonments, driven by punitive fines and the mass influx of non-citizen workers, by the millions, whether vetted or not, from other countries. These outside countries are not held accountable for the welfare of their own citizens. And are unloaded on America's doorsteps by design.
Said non-citizen populations are then utilized as pawns to overpopulate already overpopulated Black citizens' communities that have been historically segregated. Overpopulation causes homelessness, which, when combined with unfair petty fines designed by policymakers with deep-seated biases rooted in White supremacy since the Whitman Administration, then exacerbates racial disparities and has, as a result, undermined the freedoms and rights of Black American citizens in New Jersey for the past 50 years, placing Black American children in jeopardy as planned.
Consequently, a disproportionate number of Black American children are placed in foster care, as a direct result of being homeless, where they experience further trauma due to cultural dislocation and family plus community separation. This exacerbates the harm caused by societal neglect and racial stereotyping, issues that require attention plus advocacy from all Black American adult citizens living in New Jersey to stop this cycle of harm that's been going on for way too long.
Please read Echo News TV LLC's report, "Explores the Alarming Homelessness Crisis Among Black Families in New Jersey for the Last 30 Years."
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