One of the issues explored at oral argument last month in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. the Inclusive Communities Project was whether the defendant in the case could really be said to have done anything that actually had a “disparate impact” on racial minorities. Chief Justice Roberts grilled Solicitor General Verrilli on this point, and never did get a satisfactory answer. Here’s the issue: The plaintiff in the case is a liberal organization that wants to promote racial integration, and it is unhappy that the Texas state agency there doesn’t distribute tax credits in a way that encourages low-income housing to be built in white areas. But mightn’t poor minorities prefer to have low-income housing built close to where they already live rather than far away? It’s interesting, then, that this week an op-ed was published by the chairman of another Texas organization, who appears to be just as committed to helping racial minorities as the plaintiff, but complains that what’s needed is more low-income housing in minority areas, not less.