Hannah Randall

ARITS Final
May 22, 2016

Legal Case: Mrs. Lena Younger v. The CPNA

Good Afternoon ladies and gentleman, My name is Hannah Randall and I am
here representing Mrs. Lena Younger in her civil case against the Clybourn Park
Neighborhood Association. Mrs. Lena is a good woman. She is an older woman with
two children and one grandchild. Her daughter, Beneatha is enrolled in classes to
become a doctor while her son, Walter is a hard working married man. Walter and his
wife Ruth have one child, a boy named Travis. Travis is around 7 years old and the only
room he could ever call his own was the living room with the couch as his bed. Mrs.
Younger has worked hard her whole life to provide for her family. When Mrs. Younger's
husband died, she received a check covering his life insurance. All Mrs. Younger
wanted to do was to buy the nicest house she could afford for her family while still
putting money away for her daughter's medical schooling. Mrs. Lena Younger has spent
her whole life struggling to do the best she could for her family. how would you feel if
you were denied the right to live in a certain area based on your race? Mrs. Lena
Younger had bought this house to enjoy with her family and was now unjustly asked to
sell their house and not become a part of the Clybourne Park neighborhood before she
was able to move in. Mr. Karl Lindner approached Mrs. Youngers family by coming to
their home and requesting to buy back the property that they recently purchased in
Clybourne Park before they were even able to move in to keep African Americans out of
the neighborhood. The Youngers were appalled, How could this even happen to them?

They were a god loving family that never broke the law or discriminated against others
in the way that they were currently being discriminated against.
Soon the court will hear from Mrs. Lena Younger herself and she will tell you
how this discriminatory reasoning the CPNA has provided as to why her family is
unwanted in the Clybourne Park Neighborhood. Mrs. Younger will tell you that she is
ashamed, that she has been dehumanized by others based on her race. The Courts will
also hear from Mr. Karl Lindner who will try to influence the jury that what he did was in
the best interest of the Youngers because they would face backlash from the
community. According to the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution which is
upheld throughout the court system, the 14th Amendment forbids states from denying
any person "life, liberty or property, without due process of law" (loc.gov). What Mr.
Lindner is wanting the family to do is unconstitutional and is outside the legal
parameters of the law. Karl Lindner is denying the Youngers their legal right to property
to and their right to live where they please. Mr. Lindner is practicing discriminatory
housing practices by making it seem as though they Youngers will not be safe in this
neighborhood if it is where they choose to live. This housing practice created racial
covenants, blacks were all but barred from entering white neighborhoods, if not by
restrictive racial covenants (which forbid property sales to African Americans and other
minorities) then by violence and intimidation (Bouie 2). Mr. Lindner was trying to
intimidate the Youngers from living in this neighborhood by coming to their house and
talking of horrors that happened to other people of color who tried to move into the
neighborhood. Mr. Karl Lindner will be coming to the stand to claim his position stating
that he had the Youngers safety in mind when trying to get them to sell their house back

to the CPNA; but Mr. Lindner is a liar and a racially discriminant businessman who is
trying to keep the cost of living in Clybourne Park high by not allowing United States
citizens of color or other minorities from living in their neighborhood. You, as the jury
should find Mr. Karl Lindner and the CPNA guilty of discriminatory housing practices and
unconstitutional dehumanization for trying to deny Mrs. Lena Younger and her family a
better life in a better neighborhood.