Equal opportunity? REALLY?!?

How can residential or employers claim that they are a equal housing or employers when they won't allow backgrounds? I know I am ignorant to what exactly what it means or else I wouldn't be asking this. They are closed at the moment and thought I would ask before calling again in the morning to ask. I have a misdemeanor assault that happened when I was 17; I am now 23 and I am forced to live in high crime gang areas and murders. Living in a war zone here. I'm not what society claims to be a bad person, I just was evolved in a violent home when I was younger and I defended myself. I understand a murderer or acts of rape and sex with a child, but not when somebody doesn't have a felony or drug charges or anything of that effect. The more and more the government is forcing people like me in high crime areas, the higher the crime is going to get because your putting them all together. For jobs, I have accomplished great income at certain places that didn't even require a background. If a place does a background check, and you told them you had a clean criminal background, and they hire you and you do more than anybody there, sale more, help more and things of that nature, and then they find out that your somebody who got caught with a joint less than size of a pinkie when you were 18, or fought off a family member that was attacking you and they got to the phone first and manipulated it all just because they looked more hurt than the person they attacked ...what has changed?!?!?1 NOTHING, but they physiological fact that you have a background; not your work performance.