NFHA President and CEO Issues Statement Commemorating the Fair Housing Act’s 55th Anniversary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 11, 2023
Media Contact: IWoodruff@NationalFairHousing.org
NFHA President and CEO Issues Statement Commemorating the Fair Housing Act’s 55th Anniversary
Washington, D.C. — Lisa Rice, President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), issued the following statement to mark 55 years since the landmark federal Fair Housing Act was signed into law:
“On this day in 1968, the federal Fair Housing Act was signed into law, just seven days after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s horrific assassination prompted social justice protests and on the heels of the groundbreaking Kerner Commission Report. The landmark legislation provided federal enforcement to protect people who experience housing discrimination. It also incorporated an affirmative obligation for the federal government, and any entity receiving federal housing or community development funds, to dismantle segregation and take steps to advance fair housing throughout the nation. Sadly, a failure to fully enforce this law over the past 55 years has allowed racial disparities in homeownership and credit access to prevail and residential segregation to worsen. In fact, our neighborhoods are more segregated today than they were in 1918, and the Black/White and Latino/White homeownership gaps are as large as they were when redlining was legal.
“Although we have made some important strides as a society since 1968, we clearly still have a long way to go in fully dismantling the systems that continue to perpetuate inequity based on race, gender, national origin, religion, disability, and sexual orientation.
“During Fair Housing Month and throughout 2023, NFHA will honor Dr. King’s legacy and commemorate the Fair Housing Act’s 55th anniversary through our “Advancing a Blueprint for Equity” campaign. This campaign will bring together diverse voices, perspectives, and experiences to develop and promote strategies for eliminating bias and increasing equity so that all people — regardless of race, gender identity, ethnicity, family status, disability, or religion — have a range of choices about where to live, and so that all neighborhoods have the resources and amenities people need, regardless of who lives in the community. In particular, NFHA will continue exploring solutions for addressing appraisal bias, algorithmic injustice, source of income discrimination, restrictive zoning, and the nation’s affordable housing crisis. We will also work to ensure the Fair Housing Act’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing provision is fully implemented. By taking these steps, we can bring this country closer to fully achieving the Fair Housing Act’s goals and promise.
“I encourage everyone to join us this year as we advance fair housing priorities that ensure everyone has access to decent, affordable housing in healthy, vibrant, well-resourced communities that are free from discrimination.”
Click here to learn more about NFHA’s yearlong campaign. Click here for a list of Fair Housing Month activities NFHA is facilitating. Click here to join NFHA in advancing fair housing opportunities.
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The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) is the country’s only national civil rights organization dedicated solely to eliminating all forms of housing and lending discrimination and ensuring equal opportunities for all people. As the trade association for over 170 fair housing and justice-centered organizations and individuals throughout the U.S. and its territories, NFHA works to dismantle longstanding barriers to equity and build diverse, inclusive, well-resourced communities.