October 29, 2021

SAVE THE DATE *Ticket Information Coming Soon!* Maryland Commission on Civil Rights' Biennial Civil Rights & Fair Housing Gala Celebration Her Story: Celebrating 100 Years of the Women's Right to Vote & Promoting Civil Rights 30 Years of the Americans with Disabilities Act Saturday, April 30, 2022 6:00pm until 10:00 pm at the Maryland Live! Hotel Ballroom 7002 Arundel Mills Circle #7777 Hanover, Maryland 21076 After 2 years of social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights is excited to announce that our Biennial Civil Rights & Fair Housing Gala Celebration has been rescheduled to Saturday, April 30, 2022, from 6:00pm to 10:00pm at the Maryland Live! Hotel Ballroom in Hanover, Maryland. Originally slated for Saturday, April 25, 2020, the Gala Celebration will honor the remarkable milestones commemorating 100 years of the women's right to vote, as well as 30 years of protections under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Our keynote speaker for the evening is civil rights icon and former Chairperson of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission Dr. Mary Frances Berry. During the program, we will also honor the work and lifetime achievements of 6 trailblazing women from Maryland. We look forward to seeing everyone there! Invitation & Sponsorship Opportunities to Follow - Stay Tuned PLEASE NOTE: In the interest of the health of our guests, MCCR will be enforcing all COVID-19 safety guidelines during the event. This will include, but is not limited to, guests wearing masks and maintaining safe social distancing.

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HUD Conference:

Fair Housing: What Counselors Need to Know

 

HUD's Offices of Housing Counseling (OHC) and Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity present "Fair Housing 2021: What Counselors Need to Know" on November 16-17, 2021: All agencies are invited to attend.

Summary - In the interactive fair housing training sessions, participants will connect with HUD and learn about how housing counselors can support fair housing.

Registration - Participants who register for the conference will be automatically registered for all conference sessions. Conference registrants will be invited to engage with Whova before, during, and after the conference.

Who Should Attend - This joint virtual conference is open to all HUD-approved housing counseling agencies and their counselors.

Agenda

The two-day conference kicks off with opening remarks from David Berenbaum, Deputy Assistance Secretary with the HUD Office of Housing Counseling (OHC) and DeAndra Cullen, Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO). Both will be discussing the fair housing priorities for their offices.

Speakers will be:

        David Berenbaum, Deputy Assistant Secretary, HUD Office of Housing Counseling

        DeAndra Cullen, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Policy, Legislative Initiatives, and Outreach, HUD  Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.

        Shawna LaRue Moraille, Director, Community Development, ICF.

        Olivia Healey, Analyst, Community Development, ICF.

Workshops & Timeline

1. Fair Housing in Practice: Responsibilities, Guidance, and Tools. Tuesday, November 16, 2021: 12:30 – 2:00 PM EST.

2. Credit and Lending Discrimination Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Fair Housing Act. Tuesday, November 16, 2021: 2:30 – 3:30 PM EST.

3.  Reaching Limited English Proficient (LEP) Populations. Tuesday, November 16, 2021: 4:00 – 5:00 PM EST.

4.  Rights for Persons with Disabilities. Wednesday, November 17, 2021: 12:00 – 1:00 PM EST.

5.  LGBTQ+ Protections Under the Fair Housing Act and in HUD Programs. Wednesday, November 17, 2021: 1:30 – 2:30 PM EST.

6.  Fair Housing in Disaster Recovery. Wednesday, November 17, 2021: 3:00 – 4:00 PM EST.

7.  Closing and Final Q&A. Wednesday, November 17, 2021: 4:00 – 4:45 PM EST.

Go to the Conference website.

 

October 28, 2021

MCCR Presents: Reasonable Accommodations During the COVID-19 Pandemic A Virtual Presentation Wednesday, November 10, 2021 12:00pm to 2:00pm Register at mccr.events/WorkAndCOVID What You Should Know About COVID-19 and Reasonable Accommodations in Maryland Presented by Glendora C. Hughes, MCCR General Counsel and Kara N. Hunt, Ph.D., MCCR Director of Education & Outreach The COVID-19 Pandemic has completely shifted the workplace environment. Now more than ever, employees work flexible hours, telework full or part-time, and operate on unique schedules. EEO and human resources personnel have indicated that the rate of reasonable accommodation requests that they receive have increased exponentially and require a more detailed analysis than those submitted prior to the pandemic. General Counsel Glendora C. Hughes will provide participants with an overview of Maryland's legal protections for persons with disabilities as well as answers to common questions such as: What if an employee refuses to come to work for fear of infection? Can I be forced to work during the COVID-19 pandemic? What are some recommendations for employers during the COVID-19 pandemic? Does my employer have to give me the specific accommodation I ask for? MCCR's Education & Outreach division will provide participants with interactive activities and educational insights.

Apply Online for MCCR's Civil Rights Leadership Program ​The Maryland Commission on Civil Rights Leadership Program (CRLP) is a free three-day academy designed to provide training and insight to emerging leaders by fostering a comprehensive and supportive educational environment wherein program participants will engage with experienced Civil Rights leaders, scholars, and practitioners in order to learn more about career paths and opportunities in the field. This program is open to scholars currently enrolled at any Maryland college or university with an interest in Civil Rights Leadership, Law, Advocacy, Human Relations, and Equal Employment Opportunity. Apply online at: mccr.events/CRLP

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October 25, 2021

Upcoming Public Workshop Removing Ableist Language from our Lexicon Wednesday, October 27, 2021 12:00pm to 3:00pm Register at mccr.events/DisabilityInclusion Definitions of ableist language, history, common terms and disability, as well as legal protections and reasonable accommodations. This workshop will be led by Glendora C. Hughes, Esq., MCCR General Counsel; Kara N. Hunt, Ph.D., MCCR Director of Education & Outreach; Tiffany Lanoix, Transfer Honors Program Director, West Los Angeles College; and Gwendolyn Suehunu, Disability Rights Activist.

MCCR's Free Public Trainings Left for October Be sure to register for FREE today - space is limited! ​Please note that MCCR is currently conducting all trainings and programs virtually. To request an accommodation, please contact Spencer Dove at spencer.dove@maryland.gov​​. Public Accommodations and Maryland Law: The Basics​ Thursday, October 28, 2021 10:00am to 12:00pm Register at mccr.events/PAOct2021 This workshop provides information on the Maryland State Law in regards to dealing with accommodations in public facilities and services. What does the State Law have to say about access to public accommodations and services in the state of Maryland? How does that impact the lives of persons seeking services within Maryland?

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JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TO TARGET REDLINING BY BANKS

The U. S. Department of Justice (USDOJ) announced on October 22, 2021 a multi-government effort to investigate and prosecute redlining, the illegal practice of banks discriminating against racial minorities or certain neighborhoods. In the effort, the Justice Department, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) also publicly announced that a filing of a new case  against Trustmark Bank for its allegedly discriminatory treatment of Black and Hispanic borrowers in Memphis, Tennessee. The USDOJ is currently investigating several redlining cases and expects it will be opening more in the coming months. The anti-redlining effort also will involve U.S. attorneys’ offices with local experience in these neighborhoods as well as state attorneys general. The CFPB will be focusing a lot of its effort on algorithmic redlining. Its director commented: “Digital redlining may simply ingrain old forms of discrimination.”

Despite the law, redlining has been continuing across the US, with very negative long-term effects on minority households. For example, the average net worth of a Black family is a small fraction of a typical white household, and homes in historically redlined neighborhoods are worth less than homes found in non-redlined communities. Far fewer Blacks own their homes than whites. The Census Bureau found that in 2020's first quarter 44% of Black families owned compared with 73.7% of White families.

This effort reverses that of the previous administration, which mostly did not pursue federal investigation of possible redlining cases. That administration brought its first redlining case in 2018, and largely dismantled the Civil Rights Division's investigatory expansion under the Obama administration.

The Justice Department, CFPB, and OCC reached a settlement against Trustmark National Bank that would satisfy allegations that the bank redlined against some Memphis neighborhods. Trustmark, a bank mostly in the South, will be required to open a mortgage office in a majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhood within the Memphis metro and contribute $3.85 million to a fund to create loan subsidies for borrowers in discriminated neighborhoods. This agreement also has the Bank making a civil $4 million payment to the OCC and a civil $1 million payment to the CFPB.

In a statement, Trustmark’s president/CEO said the bank entered into the settlements with the federal government “to avoid the distraction of protracted litigation and because we share the common goals of breaking down barriers to home financing and exploring innovative ways to help residents of underserved areas achieve the dream of homeownership.”

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Source: https://apnews.com/article/business-race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-tennessee-memphis-6008ad53f784c42ab2f4dc627e0af9c5.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/redlining-justice-lending-garland-crackdown/2021/10/22/33c527c0-3353-11ec-a1e5-07223c50280a_story.html.

JOIN A FREE LISTENING SESSION: 

HEALTH INSURANCE ISSUES FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Maryland Insurance Commissioner Kathleen Birrane and the Maryland Department of Disabilities Secretary Carol Beatty will hear from invited panelists, interested stakeholders, and members of the public regarding Health Insurance Issues for People with Disabilities.

If you wish to sign-up to speak after the invited panelists, please do so by emailing listening.sessions@maryland.gov. Individuals who sign-up will be

allotted a period of time to share their thoughts and experiences.

Date: Tuesday November 16, 2021

Time: 1pm – 3:30pm

Zoom Link: ow.ly/YLDe50GnO1h

Zoom Meeting ID #: 161 372 9427

Call-In Information: (646) 828-7666

 NEW FAIR HOUSING NEWS

Freddie Mac Study Finds Black And Latino Homeowners Are Almost Twice As Likely As Whites To Get Low Appraisals. Read the September 23, 2021 NPR article.

 NLIHC's “Out of Reach 2021: The High Cost of Housing” Report Finds Millions of Low-Income Renters Suffering Most. Out of Reach 2021: The High Cost of Housing. https://reports.nlihc.org/oor. Read the July 14, 2021 NLIHC release.

New Study Shows Negative Impact of Lynching History on Life Expectancy Today. New study. Read the Science Daily article.

 2020 FBI Hate Crimes Data is the Highest in 12 Years.  Interactive hate crime map  ADL Hate Crime Map. Read the August 30, 2021 ADL release.

 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) Data Shows Refi Boom During Pandemic, But Not for Black and Hispanic Homeowners Whose Share of Refinance Loans Declined. New analysis. https://ncrc.org/2020-hmda-preliminary-analysis/. Read the August 19, 2021 NCRC release.

Howard County Libraries Open Equity Resource Center About Racism, Culture, & History. https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/howard/cng-ho-library-equity-resource-center-20210928-nduzxwn5rrgddghcpeazz7mdrq-story.html.

Study Finds US Loan Applicants of Color Were 40%–80% More Likely to be Denied than Their White Counterparts. In Some Metros, the Disparity Was Over 250%. Read the August 25, 2021 Markup article.

 And many more news stories are on this issue of he GBCHRB's Fair Housing E-News: fhnews21sepoct.pdf.

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To subscribe to Fair Housing News for free, contact wkladky@gbchrb.org.

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Contact the GBCHRB for free Fair Housing training.