HUD COMMEMORATES NATIONAL FAIR HOUSING MONTH 2021

 

Click here to watch Secretary Fudge’s video statement on Fair Housing Month.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today kicked off Fair Housing Month 2021. This year’s Fair Housing Month theme, Fair Housing: More Than Just Words, reflects the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to advancing equity in housing and the importance of increasing public awareness of everyone’s right to fair housing. 

“Fair Housing Month is a time to recommit to our nation’s obligation to ensure that everyone has equal access to safe, affordable housing,” said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “Unfortunately, housing discrimination still exists, from individuals and families being denied a place to call home because of the color of their skin or where they come from, to landlords refusing to allow persons with disabilities to keep assistance animals, to individuals being denied a place to live because of who they love. In this moment of unprecedented crisis, fair housing is more important than ever. 53 years after the Fair Housing Act was signed, our journey to justice in housing continues.”

Each April, HUD, local communities, fair housing advocates, and fair housing organizations across the country commemorate Fair Housing Month by hosting an array of activities that highlight HUD's fair housing enforcement efforts, enhance Americans’ awareness of their fair housing rights, and emphasize the importance of ending housing discrimination.

Secretary Fudge will commemorate Fair Housing Month with a virtual celebration on April 7th at 2 p.m. Eastern time that will also feature the Justice Department’s Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Pamela Karlan; HUD’s Acting Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, Jeanine Worden; and HUD Senior Advisor Alanna McCargo.  

In addition to highlighting HUD’s enforcement activities, a central focus of this year’s commemoration with the Biden-Harris Administration’s pledge to end housing discrimination, provide redress to those who have experienced housing discrimination, to eliminate racial bias and other forms of discrimination in all stages of home-buying and renting, and to secure equal access to housing opportunity for all.

Last year, HUD and its Fair Housing Assistance Program partner agencies received more than 7,700 complaints alleging discrimination based on one or more of the Fair Housing Act's seven protected classes: race, color, national origin, religion, sex, family status, and disability. During that period, the categories with the highest number of complaints were disability and race, respectively. HUD also received complaints that alleged lending discrimination as well as numerous complaints from women who faced unfair treatment, including sexual harassment.

"Although the Fair Housing Act became law in 1968, we still have major challenges ahead of us,” said Jeanine Worden, HUD’s Acting Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “This April, on the 53rd anniversary of the Fair Housing Act, HUD is renewing its commitment to level the playing field so every person has the same opportunity to live where they choose and benefit from all of the opportunities this nation offers.”

For a listing of HUD Fair Housing Month events and activities, go to: www.hud.gov/FHM2021.

People who believe they have experienced discrimination may file a complaint by contacting HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at (800) 669-9777 (voice) or (800) 877-8339 (Relay). Housing discrimination complaints may also be filed by going to hud.gov/fair housing.

HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and http://espanol.hud.gov. You can also connect with HUD on social media  or sign up for news alerts on HUD's Email List.

You can follow Secretary Fudge on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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Source: HUD press release, April 1, 2021.

MARYLAND ENFORCEMENT DATA SHOWS INCREASE IN HOUSING DISCRIMINATION COMPLAINTS

The Maryland Commission on Civil Rights (MCCR) recently released their annual report detailing their fair housing enforcement efforts. Read the 2020 MCCR Annual Report. MCCR reports that in 2020, they received 128 complaints of housing discrimination from Marylanders. This is a 37.6% increase from the 93 in 2019. Some 82.0% of these complaints (or 105) were from people who have a disability. A total of 53 of the complaints were based on race, with 91% of those from Black Marylanders. 

The National Fair Housing Alliance has also released a report on U.S. Fair Housing Trends in 2020. They found that there were 28,880 fair housing complaints in the U.S. in 2019, a slight decrease. There were 17,010  complaint cases (58.9%) that involved discrimination against a person with a disability, now probably "the easiest to detect, as it most often takes place as an overt denial of a request for a reasonable accommodation or modification to the housing unit. The second most reported type of housing was discrimination on the basis of race with 4,757 (16.5%) cases, followed by familial status as the basis for discrimination in 2,228 (7.7%) cases; sex discrimination with 1,948 complaints (6.8%); national origin 1,730 (6.0%) cases; color with 646 (2.2%) cases; and religion the basis of 328 (1.1%) cases.

The Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition observes that "while Maryland makes up 1.84% of the US population, our fair housing complaints are just 0.32% of the complaints made nationwide. This low number of complaints, taken in concert with the pervasive segregation of housing in the Baltimore region and ample anecdotal evidence of discrimination, suggests that Marylanders are not reporting discrimination when they experience it."

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Sources:

Maryland Commission on Civil Rights 2020 Annual Report. 

National Fair Housing Alliance report on U.S. Fair Housing Trends in 2020.

Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition Member Newsletter, April 2, 2021.

Katharine R. Stierhoff, County Housing Activist and League of Women Voters Leader, 91

In the early 1960s, Stierhoff became an advocate of women’s issues and believed in the power of the vote. She joined the newly created Baltimore County League of Women Voters’ board in 1966. Her son was quoted as saying “Housing was very important to her. She wanted housing affordable for people of less means.”

Her sons said she was instrumental in establishing the first office for the Baltimore County League of Women Voters in Towson and managed that office for many years. She organized volunteers and disseminated information to the membership and broader community. She also worked on annual voters’ guides. Stierhoff also served on the board of what is now called the Community Assistance Network as the league’s representative.

“My mother was not a loud advocate, but she was persistent,” said her son, Lee Stierhoff.

With the League of Women Voters, she became active in promoting affordable housing. “While serving as the League’s Housing Chair in the late ’80s, she worked to establish a livability code for Baltimore County and lobbied representatives to successfully pass affordable housing bond bills in 1992 and 1994,” her son Paul said. Mrs. Stierhoff also helped form the Baltimore County Housing Coalition and served as its vice president. “She was also instrumental in establishing the Fuel Fund of Central Maryland and served as a board member from 1980 to 1995,” her son Paul said.

Mrs. Stierhoff remained interested in fair and affordable housing issues and served on a Baltimore County advisory council working to eliminate discriminatory housing policies. She cited Baltimore County’s reluctance to address housing issues that went back decades. She said county residents held attitudes against housing for the poor for many years.

The family will hold a private ceremony to inter her ashes at the Church of the Good Shepherd, where she had been a member. A memorial service will be held at a later time.

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Source: The Baltimore Sun, March 31, 2021.

Camille Wheeler, Social Services Administrator & Community Activist, 80 

While attending Goucher, she learned about the consequences of racism and discrimination in the era of civil rights involvement. She returned to Baltimore and joined the old Baltimore City Department of Public Welfare. She went on to be a caseworker, training specialist, and Hampden district manager. She worked under the city’s former social service director, Esther Lazarus. She also worked with former Sen. Barbara Mikulski, who was also been a social worker.

Wheeler became the director of the Baltimore County Department of Social Services in 1979 and remained in that position until being forced into retirement after clashing in 1998 with County Executive C. A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger. The newspaper’s editorial also said, “Ms. Wheeler’s competence and dedication is not in question. She is highly regarded by the Child Welfare League of America.”

”To know Camille was to respect and cherish her opinions, always rendered gently but based on deep understanding of whatever issues she was addressing,” said Ms. Schagrin, a fellow social worker. “She was self-effacing woman. Ms. Wheeler was not one for the limelight or attention despite her many accomplishments, and the impact she had on so many. She had strong views about the high quality of services. She made a requirement that her social workers had a master’s degree and a license. She felt our clients needed the best-trained and educated professionals.”

From 1998 to 2016, Wheeler taught social policy, management and community organization at her alma mater, the University of Maryland School of Social Work. 

She also served on many boards, including board memberships for the League of Women Voters, the Pro Bono Counseling Program, and the Greater Baltimore Community Housing Resource Board (the author of this blog).

We would like to thank Camille for her dedicated service to the community and to our organization.

A memorial service is being planned.

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Source: The Baltimore Sun, March 27, 2021.

 

New Study Finds 5 Ways Racist 1930s Housing Policies Still Hurt Schools

The new study, “The Lingering Legacy of Redlining on School Funding, Diversity, and Performance,” released by the Annenberg Institute at Brown University as a working paper, is by Christopher Cleveland and Dylan Lukes, both PhD candidates in education policy at Harvard University.

To make the connection, the researchers used mapping software to sync over 10,000 current-day school locations with New Deal-era lending maps from 144 cities in 38 states. The study examined schools in 144 residential areas. Each locale is represented by a dot on the map. The researchers compared how schools and districts from redlined areas stacked up against schools in neighborhoods that, 80 years ago, mapmakers had viewed more favorably. Here’s what they found:

1. Schools in redlined areas face stark funding disparities compared to schools in areas rated more favorably. On average, they spend nearly $2,500 less per pupil than schools in top-rated zones, and over $3,000 less than schools in neighborhoods rated second-tier.

2.  Schools in redlined areas were less likely to have diverse student bodies, tending instead to have higher percentages of Black, Hispanic and Asian students. While schools in neighborhoods the New Deal-era lending program rated as more “desirable” averaged more white students, they also tended to have a greater racial mixture in their classrooms.

3. Achievement gaps are parallel to the funding and diversity disparities. “We saw pretty stark differences” in test results, said Lukes. “The average is lower for [redlined] schools,” added Cleveland. The researchers analyzed year-to-year learning rates to estimate whether schools from redlined areas were making up ground. Rates were even across groups, they found, meaning that gaps appear set to stay in place.

4. Though funding gaps between schools in redlined versus non-redlined areas have remained persistent, money from the federal and state levels has helped make up some of that ground. Because of state funding formulas and federal programs like Title I, redlined schools tend to receive more federal and state money than schools in other zones.

5. The researchers recommend changes to more equitably deal with the consequences of the historical disparities. One possibly is to re-examine the relationship between school funding and property taxes. “There might be a chance to separate housing from (education) funding, in recognizing that certain schools are located in places where it’ll take a long time for them to get additional dollars” through local taxes," said one author.

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Source: Lehrer-Small, Asher. "New Study: 5 Ways Racist 1930s Housing Policies Still Haunt Schools." The 74. March 22, 2021.

 

March 29, 2021

MARYLAND COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS STATEMENT AGAINST ACTS OF HATE AND BIAS AGAINST THE ASIAN AMERICAN & PACIFIC ISLANDER COMMUNITY The Maryland Commission on Civil Rights stands in solidarity with the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in condemning anti-Asian sentiment and any acts of racism throughout the region and the nation. In May of 2020, the Commission’s Executive Director, Alvin O. Gillard, issued a statement condemning the murder of George Floyd and the systemic racism that many people of color face in our communities. We feel troubled by these acts of racism standing in solidarity with these communities in seeking justice and equity. Moreover, these victims and their families shall remain in our thoughts and hearts. As the agency in State government with the statutory mission of enforcing anti-discrimination statutes preventing unlawful discrimination in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodations, and State contracts, we affirm our commitment in addressing unlawful discrimination throughout the State. This public agency remains focused and authentic in pursuing our statutory charge to represent the voices of all citizens. A critical part of MCCR’s mission includes promoting and improving the civil rights in the State. We recognize that racism has historically been cultivated by deliberate misinformation and a devaluing of the other that all who possess good will should condemn. As the Board of Commissioners, in partnership with the staff, we specifically recognize that COVID-19 as well as some in the past Administration have amplified the bias against and the barriers and disparities experienced by people of color and by immigrants. We reflect upon Edmund Burke’s quote that President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., relied upon in their public speeches, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing.” The Maryland Commission on Civil Rights calls on all people of our state, and especially those who self-describe as people of “good-will”, to join us in combating unlawful discrimination in all its forms. There are opportunities for you to join with Human Relations Commissions in your counties, as well as advocacy and service organizations around the state that promote equity, inclusion, and opportunity. In conclusion, we encourage all Marylanders to step-up and become a part of community efforts to promote sustainable change through the dismantling of systems of oppression, neglect, and inferiority. Let us all stand as good neighbors by showing our support for the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in our community with some acts of kindness. We stand with you!

Victim of Discrimination? Training & Partnerships

 

Register for the conference  The Just Economy Conference is the national online event for community, policy, government and business leaders working toward a just economy that not only promises but delivers to all Americans opportunities to build wealth and live well. Come to this national online event for community, policy, government, business and foundation leaders who work for fairness in lending, housing and business, and to make all Americans equal parts of the formula for national success. Speakers are: Nikole Hannah-Junes, Pulitzer-winning investigative civil rights reporter, The New York Times. Jerome Powell, Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chair of the Senate's Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs Committee. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Member of the Senate's Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs Committee. Advocacy Week is a special event that is available only to NCRC members: Join NCRC today to participate in this unique advocacy experience and virtually meet with your Senators, Representatives or Congressional staff to discuss a wide array of policy issues that affect all Americans, but especially have an impact on lower-income and Black and Brown communities. Join us online for two jam-packed days of keynotes and networking May 3-4, plus: April 22: Advocacy Week Prep Meeting  April 26-30: Pre Conference Advocacy Week May 5-14: Post Conference Just Economy Sessions Every year, we hear those who attend the Just Economy conference say participating in Hill Day and meeting their policymakers is their favorite part of the conference. This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our Hill Day is not only all virtual, but it is an entire Advocacy Week April 26-30. There is still time to register. Join us and make your voice heard.  You will also receive the member registration rate for the conference, and all the benefits of NCRC Membership including:  National and regional research reports on important topics like gentrification, bank closures and housing affordability Trainings and technical assistance to help your organization build capacity Access to the new Member Hub and Just Economy Forum  Join NCRC then to get updates on when meetings with your policymakers will take place.   Register now NCRC 740 15th St. NW Suite 400 Washington, DC 20306 ***** Source: National Community Reinvestment Coalition, March 29, 2021