News

Confederate Flag Flies in the Face of Justice

In July 2009, the Illinois Department of Human Rights Commission reinstated and remanded the charges of HOPE's clients Ms. Hall, Ms. Hayde and HOPE itself. We have referred to this case as the “Confederate Flag” case because HOPE and its clients allege that the respondents used racial slurs and the Confederate Flag to intimidate our clients and deny them the opportunity to buy the home of their choice.

The Commission, in its ruling stated that "In this case, the Complainant has alleged facts demonstrating an explicitly racially motivated and intimidating act, one which communicated to her that she was not wanted in a predominantly white community because she was African-American. As a direct result of this racially motivated communication and intimidation, the Complainant ceased in the exercise of her right to purchase real estate in a community of her choosing. This is the very sort of ill that Article III of the Act was designed to remedy. The Complainant’s Request is persuasive."

Housing Discrimination, 21st Century Style

On August 11, 2009, the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) released a report that documents how thousands of illegal housing advertisements appear with impunity on the internet every day. Ads such as "couples preferred," "adults only" and "…2 bedrooms, perfect for 4 adults" are examples of ads that discriminate against families with children.

"At a time when 2 million children and their families have lost their homes to foreclosure and are desperately searching for a place to call home, these discriminatory advertisements slam the door in their face -- denying them even the opportunity to apply for the apartment or home," said NFHA’s president and CEO Shanna L. Smith."

Newspapers have been held liable under the Fair Housing Act for publishing discriminatory housing advertisements with statements such as "no kids," or "couples only." However, publishers of similar ads on the Internet have not. A loophole in the Communications Decency Act of 1996 has allowed internet advertising providers to escape liability under the Fair Housing Act by holding them to a different standard than print media.

Rather than holding publishers accountable, thereby addressing housing discrimination systematically as intended by law, this legal loophole has forced fair housing organizations to spend precious resources by challenging this enormous problem on an ad-by-ad basis. Neither the federal government nor individual organizations have the staff or resources to continue prosecuting each individual landlord.

The National Fair Housing Alliance and 27 private fair housing organizations around the country, including HOPE Fair Housing Center, identified more than 7,500 discriminatory advertisements.

Contact HOPE if you would like bookmarks to send to your Senator or Congressman or Congresswoman, to urge them to close the loop hole and open the doors to countless homes now closed to families with children. The message on the back side of the bookmarks says:

"Children don’t deserve to be denied housing just because they’re kids. Discriminatory housing ads on the internet have the same affect as slamming a door in the face of families with children. It's just done 21st century style."

Ground-Breaking Fair Housing Settlement

On August 20, 2009, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Department of Justice and Westchester County, New York announced a $62.5 million ground-breaking fair housing settlement with the Anti-Discrimination Center. In response, Shanna L. Smith, President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance, stated that:

"The settlement announced today by Westchester County, the federal government, and the Anti-Discrimination Center sends a clear message to recipients of federal housing funds everywhere: you must work to reduce barriers to fair housing and help create inclusive, sustainable communities. It is not a suggestion that can be disregarded or ignored. This is in the intent of both the Community Development Block Grant program (CDBG) program and the Fair Housing Act.

The National Fair Housing Alliance urges the more than 1000 CDBG recipients to re-examine their Analyses of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice and evaluate what concrete fair housing programs they are engaged in to eliminate rental, sales, and insurance discrimination, to challenge predatory mortgage lending and fraud scams, and to stop housing-related hate activity. Fair housing groups have the deep local knowledge needed to detect discrimination, and CDBG recipients can work with these non-profit fair housing agencies to guarantee our communities are vibrant, healthy, inclusive and available to everyone regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability or family status."

HOPE Fair Housing Center's Executive Director, Bernard J. Kleina, stated that local recipients of CDBG funds need to challenge housing discrimination and segregation and to promote neighborhood diversity which in turn, creates new employment, educational opportunities, and healthier, more stable communities for everyone.

Some CDBG recipients such as DuPage County have, for many years, devoted precious resources to fund fair housing enforcement, testing and education and outreach programs. However, other recipients have either done nothing to promote fair housing, or have stood in the way of equality in housing through its programs and practices. We believe that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's emphasis on the responsibility of CDBG recipients to "Affirmatively Further Fair Housing" and the recent court settlement should change that.