Cambridge Day does not endorse candidates or positions. Views expressed in this column are those of the writer.

Although the Fair Housing Act of 1968 was seen as outlawing residential discrimination and segregation, we are still far from that goal in practice. Push-back against the civil rights movement stalled enforcement of that law nationally, and set the stage for the devastating housing shortage we face today.

Local historian Amy Dain has dug deep into state and local records, revealing the racist attitudes behind the “Big Downzone” of the 1970s – a screw-tightening on housing production in Greater Boston that gave us soaring rents and home prices, among the highest in the nation.

I’m proud that our city has faced the resulting housing crisis realistically, and with an eye

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