National Fair Housing Alliance Urges Senate to Confirm Kristen Clarke as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 14, 2021
Contact: Izzy Woodruff | 202-898-1661 | IWoodruff@nationalfairhousing.org
National Fair Housing Alliance Urges Senate to Confirm Kristen Clarke as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights
Washington, D.C. — Today, Lisa Rice, President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), issued the following statement following a hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee on the nomination of Kristen Clarke to be Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights:
“NFHA strongly endorses the nomination of Kristen Clarke to be Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. As her testimony today confirmed, her extraordinary background makes her exceptionally suited to lead the Civil Rights Division at this moment in time. The Senate must immediately confirm her so she can begin the crucial work of enforcing our nation’s civil rights laws.
“Clarke has dedicated her entire career to advancing the cause of justice. She has worked to enforce civil rights laws at the federal and state levels, and she has held leadership positions in two of the nation’s foremost civil rights litigating organizations. Part of her work throughout the years has been to ensure strong enforcement of our nation’s fair housing and fair lending laws.
“Clarke has joined NFHA in its ongoing efforts to uphold the 2015 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule that was put in place to eliminate residential segregation. She has fought alongside NFHA to preserve the key civil rights protection known as Disparate Impact that addresses policies and practices that may seem neutral on their face but result in harmful discriminatory impacts against vulnerable groups.
“With over 4 million instances of housing discrimination occurring each year, increased incidents of hate and violence against Asian Americans, and continued challenges with fair access to credit, it is imperative that we have committed public officials who are experts in their field filling leadership roles in government. The journey to equality begins with the leaders who are represented in our highest federal offices. By confirming Clarke, the Senate would be setting the Department of Justice on course to restore the American people’s faith in our institutions and help strengthen our democracy.”
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Founded in 1988, the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) is a consortium of more than 200 private, nonprofit fair housing organizations and state and local civil rights agencies from throughout the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., NFHA works to eliminate housing discrimination and ensure equal housing opportunity for all people through leadership, education, outreach, membership services, public policy initiatives, community development, advocacy, and enforcement.