As Knoxville prepares to vote on a half-cent sales tax increase this November, community leaders are promoting it as a modest investment in affordable housing and infrastructure. The message is simple: fifty cents on every hundred dollars spent isn't much to ask for community improvements.

But when you examine who will pay, who will benefit, and who is positioned to profit, a troubling pattern emerges—one that Black churches, civil rights organizations, and community advocates should be sounding the alarm about.

This is not the community investment it appears to be. It is legal gentrification, funded by the very families it will displace.

The Numbers Don't Lie

The proposed tax increase would generate approximately $47 million annually, with $10 million designated for affordable housing. On its face, this sounds promising. Knoxville needs affordable housing. East Knoxville, in particular, has been designated for "revitalization" through multiple city initiatives.

But affordable for whom?

According to 2024 HUD income limits for Knoxville, "affordable housing" is typically built at 60-80% of Area Median Income (AMI). For a family of four, that means:

• 60% AMI housing requires annual income of $54,600
• 80% AMI housing requires annual income of $72,800

Meanwhile, Knoxville's median household income is just $50,994.

But the situation is far worse in East Knoxville. Census Tract 67, a predominantly Black area of East Knoxville, has a median household income of only $34,648 with a poverty rate of 25.2%. Neighboring Census Tract 68—designated as a federal Opportunity Zone due to extreme poverty—shows median household income of just $15,000 and a devastating 60% poverty rate.

Recent data shows that 43-50% of all Black residents in Knoxville live at or below the poverty line, the result of decades of discriminatory redlining and urban renewal policies that demolished Black business districts and concentrated poverty in East Knoxville. The lingering effects of these policies are well-documented with continued disparities in income, homeownership, and health outcomes between Black and White residents in Knoxville.

The gap is insurmountable: Even using the more conservative Census Tract 67 figure, families earning $34,648 are $19,952 short of the income required to qualify for "affordable" housing at 60% AMI. They would need to increase their income by 58% just to qualify for housing their tax dollars will fund.

African-Americans are being asked to pay increased sales taxes to fund housing which they cannot afford to live in. This is not hyperbole. This is mathematics.

WHO IS PROFITING?

An examination of Mayor Indya Kincannon's Tax PAC "Neighbors for Knoxville" reveals another disturbing pattern. The PAC raised $122,070 from 59 contributors to support the sales tax campaign.

However, just five contributors—all connected to real estate development, construction, or property management—provided $90,000, representing 73.7% of total funding:

• LHP Capital (Phil Lawson): $50,000 - An affordable housing developer specializing in Low Income Housing Tax Credit properties • Dominion Property Group: $10,000 - A $1.9 billion property management firm focusing on affordable housing
• Denark Construction: $10,000 - A major contractor which has completed over $1 Billion in contracts
• Randy Boyd: $10,000 - University of Tennessee President and major real estate investor; owner of Knoxville Smokies
• Jimmy & Susan Haslam: $10,000 - Owners of Cleveland Browns; Milwaukee Bucks; major real estate investors; Billionaires

These are not small community donors contributing a few dollars. These are the entities positioned to receive contracts from the $10 million annually allocated for affordable housing development.

They invest $90,000 in the campaign. They stand to receive $10 million per year in public contracts. That is an 11,000% return on investment—funded by working families paying increased sales taxes. For every $1 invested the contributors will receive about $110 in return.

The Misleading Comparison To Surrounding Counties

Proponents of the tax increase point out that five of eight surrounding counties already have the 2.75% sales tax rate, suggesting Knoxville is "late to the party."

This comparison fails on every metric.

Poverty Rates:

• Knoxville: 20.5%
• Blount County: 8.8%
• National Average: 12.4%

Knoxville has nearly double the poverty rate of neighboring Blount County and is 65% higher than the national average.

Income Disparity: The City of Knoxville's median household income ($50,994) is more than $20,000 lower than Knox County overall ($71,662). But East Knoxville's poverty is even more severe: ZIP code 37915 has a median household income of just $22,236 and a poverty rate of 45.3%—nearly half the population.

Recent data shows that nearly half of all Black residents in Knoxville live at or below the poverty line. This extreme poverty is the direct result of decades of discriminatory policies including redlining and "urban renewal" projects that demolished Black business districts and concentrated poverty in areas like 37915.

Demographic Differences: Surrounding counties are predominantly white, wealthier, and lack Knoxville's historic Black community in East Knoxville—a community currently experiencing systematic displacement.

Between 2010 and 2020, Knox County's Black population grew only 5% (from 37,648 to 39,853) while the Latino population grew 90% (from 15,012 to 28,568). In Parkridge, a historically Black East Knoxville neighborhood, the Black population has declined from a clear majority to just 45%, while the white population has increased from 40% to 43%.

These demographic shifts are not coincidental. They follow a predictable pattern: "revitalization" arrives, property values increase, long-time Black residents are priced out, and wealthier (predominantly white) residents move in.

When wealthier, whiter counties raise sales taxes, they are not taxing residents at 20.5% poverty rates to fund housing those residents cannot afford. The comparison is not just misleading—it is disingenuous.

Where Are The Black Organizations?

This is where the silence becomes deafening.

The African-American Equity Restoration Task Force (AAERTF) was created to address racial inequities and restore economic opportunities for Black Knoxvillians. Yet as a policy that will disproportionately harm Black families moves toward a public vote, where is the task force's analysis? Where is the racial equity impact assessment? Where is the opposition?

The Knoxville Area Urban League exists to empower African-Americans "to enter the economic and social mainstream." How does taxing Black families to fund housing they cannot afford advance that mission?

Black churches across East Knoxville have been pillars of their communities for generations. They have witnessed the gradual erosion of Black homeownership, the displacement of long-time families, and the transformation of neighborhoods under the banner of "investment." They understand—perhaps better than anyone—what is happening.

These institutions must speak.

Churches and nonprofit organizations have every legal right to educate their congregations and members about ballot measures and policy issues. While they cannot endorse political candidates, they can—and should—take positions on policies that affect their communities. A sales tax referendum is a policy issue, not a candidate election. Faith communities can urge their members to vote no without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status.

The Beck Cultural Exchange Center, established to preserve and celebrate East Knoxville's African-American heritage, should be documenting and opposing policies that threaten that heritage.

Every Black sorority, fraternity, professional organization, and advocacy group in Knoxville should be analyzing this proposal and recognizing it for what it is: a wealth extraction mechanism disguised as community development.

The question is not whether these organizations can speak. The question is why they are not speaking.

The Pattern Of Legal Gentrification

What is happening in Knoxville follows a well-documented pattern seen in cities across America:

1. Historic Black neighborhoods are identified for "revitalization"
2. Zoning changes and infrastructure improvements are approved
3.Developers acquire properties, often with tax incentives (PILOTs, TIFs)
4. "Affordable housing" is built at income levels above what existing residents earn
5. Property values increase throughout the neighborhood
6. Long-time Black residents cannot afford rising rents and property taxes
7. Wealthier residents (disproportionately white) move into "affordable" housing
8. Black families are displaced
9. Generational wealth is extracted
10. The cycle continues

This is not theoretical. This is happening right now in East Knoxville.

The Magnolia Avenue corridor has been designated for transformation. Mixed-use developments are rising. Property values are climbing. And Black families are leaving—not by choice, but by economic necessity.

When we are asked to pay taxes to accelerate this process, we are being asked to fund our own displacement.

LEGAL CHALLENGES EXIST

What is being proposed may be legal under Tennessee law, but it raises serious questions under federal civil rights protections.

The Fair Housing Act prohibits policies that have a discriminatory effect, regardless of intent. When "affordable housing" is structured to systematically exclude Black families (who earn less) while including higher-income white families, that creates a disparate impact that may violate federal law.

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination in programs receiving federal funds. When HUD dollars are used to build housing that displaces rather than serves existing Black residents, that raises Title VI concerns.

The 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause may apply when facially neutral policies—like income-based affordability requirements—result in racial discrimination in practice.

These legal challenges require documentation, evidence, and resources. But they are not impossible. Communities in other cities have successfully challenged similar schemes.

The first step is recognizing the problem. The second step is refusing to accept it.

What Must Happen

Black organizations, churches, and community leaders must demand the following before this referendum goes to voters:

1. TRUE AFFORDABILITY REQUIREMENTS 
At least 50% of affordable housing units must be priced at 30-50% AMI—income levels that actually serve families experiencing displacement. Housing at 60-80% AMI serves middle-class families moving into the neighborhood, not working-class families being forced out.

2. COMMUNITY PREFERENCE POLICIES 
Existing East Knoxville residents must receive priority for affordable housing units. If the goal is to serve the community, the community that already exists should benefit first.

3. CONFLICT OF INTEREST PROTECTIONS 
Any entity or individual contributing to political campaigns should be prohibited from receiving public contracts for a defined period (e.g., two years). The appearance of pay-to-play politics undermines public trust and suggests contracts are awarded based on political connections rather than merit.

4. MANDATORY RACIAL EQUITY IMPACT ASSESSMENTS
Before any major policy affecting housing or development is implemented, an independent racial equity analysis must be conducted and made public. This should include:

• Who benefits and who is burdened
• Impact on Black homeownership and wealth
• Displacement projections
• Demographic changes in affected neighborhoods

5. TRANSPARENT MONITORING AND ACCOUNTABILITY Annual public reporting must disclose:

• Who actually lives in "affordable" housing (income levels, race, neighborhood of origin)
• Whether local residents are being served
• Compliance with stated affordability goals
• Any discrepancies between promises and outcomes

If these protections are not adopted, the community should vote NO in November.

A Call To Action

To the African American Equity Restoration Task Force: This is your moment. A policy that will harm Black families is moving toward implementation. If you do not oppose it, what is your purpose?

To the Knoxville Area Urban League: Economic empowerment requires opposing policies that extract wealth. Take a stand.

To Black churches across East Knoxville: Your congregations are watching neighborhoods transform and families leave. You have a moral obligation to speak the truth. Your tax-exempt status is not threatened by educating your members about this ballot measure and urging them to vote in the community's interest.

To the Beck Cultural Exchange Center and every organization claiming to serve Black Knoxville: If you remain silent as policies facilitate displacement, you are complicit in the destruction of what you claim to preserve.

To every Black professional, educator, business owner, and resident: This affects you whether you realize it yet or not. Today it is East Knoxville. Tomorrow it is your neighborhood. Wealth extraction does not stop until someone stops it.

Conclusion

Fifty cents on every hundred dollars may not sound like much. But when that money goes to developers who funded the mayor's campaign, and when the housing they build excludes the families who paid for it, and when the result is displacement of Black families from neighborhoods they built, it is not a modest investment.

It is legal gentrification.

It is wealth extraction.

It is systematic destruction of Black community under the guise of community development.

And it must be opposed.

The sales tax referendum will appear on the November 2025 ballot. Between now and then, every Black organization, church, and community leader in Knoxville must make a choice: Will you remain silent while families are displaced? Or will you sound the alarm?

The choice is yours. But make no mistake—this is your moment to choose.

History will remember whether you spoke or whether you stayed silent while your community was dismantled, fifty cents at a time.


Crystal Flack is a Knoxville resident and Community Researcher focused on economic justice, empowerment and the preservation of Black generational wealth. For more information or to join the effort opposing the sales tax increase, send your email to: GQTCWUA@GMAIL.com.