Dr. Jared Ball on Affordable Housing, Budget Cuts, & Empower DC [VIDEO]

Post-Racial America Update: White Landlord Refuses to Rent to Black College Student

Pearl Beck, 92, and her 51 year old son, Gregory are bigots. And they are going to have to pay for it to the tune of $25,500, the amount of restitution a federal court determined they owe college student Ranesha Halliburton for refusing to rent her a home because of her race. Gregory Beck pulled out the old “I am married to an American Indian” card to deny the racism inherent in his actions, and claims that he and his mother have gay, Mexican and Indian tenants, but have never rented to Black tenants because "We don't see that many around here. ... They don't want to come up here because it's too cold,"

The court found that the Becks violated the Fair Housing Act by denying Halliburton the rental property in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota that she was applying for in 2007. Although Halliburton was told that the property was no longer available, a month after she was turned down , it was rented to a white man. Gregory Beck claims that he and his mother never discriminated against Halliburton, and that the government “was lied to” and that officials “want to believe the minority because that is what they represent.”

Halliburton says she is not surprised that Gregory Beck denies mistreating her. She also says that despite her poor treatment by the Becks, she was determined to make her home in Detroit Lakes, and has since found a home with a “wonderful landlord”. She is working as a nurse’s assistant and attending college nearby. She has not let the Becks dissuade her from creating a life for herself in the town she has chosen to settle in.

But Halliburton was not about to let the Becks get away with their discriminatory behavior. She filed a report alleging discrimination, and will now receive compensation for her ordeal.