Maryland Civil Rights Gala will be on August 24, 2024

 

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS  Maryland Commission on Civil Rights Biennial Civil Rights & Fair Housing Gala Celebration "Celebrating Milestones: Pivotal Moments in History" Please Join Us To Celebrate Our Honorees! ​Governor Wes Moore Lt. Governor Aruna Miller Comptroller of Maryland - Brooke E. Lierman, Esq. Maryland Attorney General - Anthony G. Brown Superintendent MSP - Colonel Roland L. Butler, Jr., President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance - Lisa Rice Saturday, August 24, 2024 6:00 pm until 10:00 pm at the Maryland Live! Hotel Ballroom 7002 Arundel Mills Circle #7777 Hanover, Maryland 21076

The Maryland Commission on Civil Rights is excited to announce that our Biennial Civil Rights & Fair Housing Gala Celebration will be held on August 24, 2024, from 6:00pm to 10:00pm at the Maryland Live! Hotel Ballroom in Hanover, Maryland. This year, our theme is “Celebrating Milestones: Pivotal Moments in History.” In recent years, state and local organizations have achieved crucial milestones through their diversity in leadership. The values of cultural diversity and inclusiveness involve respect for and acceptance of different philosophies and values. By incorporating different cultures, we can inspire innovations and excellence in our lives, workplaces, communities, and the world. We look forward to seeing everyone there! Ticket Prices & Sponsorship Opportunities

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Baltimore City Civil Rights Week 2024 RFP Due May 31st

 

SUBMIT A PROPOSAL! This year, the Baltimore City Office of Equity and Civil Rights is excited to be hosting the 5th annual Civil Rights Week (October 6th - October 12th) here in Baltimore as we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the historic signing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Civil Rights Week is a series of FREE events over seven days which bring together academics, policy makers, service providers, activists, grassroots leaders, and members of all types of communities in our city together. In many respects, Baltimore, is one of the true homes of the civil rights movement. From the founding of the Baltimore City Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1956 to the establishment of the Police Accountability Board in 2022, Baltimore and the beautifully diverse people that make up our communities have fearlessly stood at the front lines of this fight. The City of Baltimore and the Office of Equity and Civil Rights are honored to be the beneficiaries of that work and the guardians of that legacy.  Governor Moore has declared 2024 to be "The Year of Civil Rights". With the same energy and spirit, we are happy to share that our theme for Civil Rights Week 2024 will be "From Protest to Progress!". Put yourself in a reflective and prospective mindset as we dissect false and systemic barriers and take the opportunity to learn about and celebrate the people and ideas that have made Baltimore a more equitable place to live. You can follow the links below to learn more about the different divisions that make up OECR and how your proposal can tie into some of the amazing work they do: -Police Accountability Division -Wage Commission -Women's Commission -Commission on Disabilities -Equity Division -Community Relations Commission Proposals for programs are now open and will be accepted until May 31st, 2024, at 11:59 PM.   To submit a proposal, please complete this online form: https://forms.office.com/g/39LGUWHxtE  If you require accommodations or other assistance to submit a proposal, please contact Jumel Howard at jumel.howard@baltimorecity.gov for further assistance.  Guidelines for Proposals:   Proposal topics should be relevant to the main theme of the week, "The Year of Civil Rights: Equity, Then and Now" Proposals should be focused on the local Baltimore (City and/or County) area and how equity, civil rights, and inclusion in process have evolved in Baltimore between the signing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and today.  Activists, service providers, policy makers, scholars, clients, artists, and other Baltimore-based change-makers are all welcome as potential panelists!  When writing the proposal description be sure to include a title and brief (roughly 100 words) description of your proposed panel, workshop, or other interactive formats. Proposed presenters must have already agreed to participate BEFORE proposal submission.  No incomplete proposals will be considered. This means all participants must be identified and their contact information provided, and all aspects of the associated program and costs are included in the proposal. Proposals with any associated costs must include a plan to cover those costs.   Individuals and organizations who have presented in prior years are more than welcome to submit proposals for this year! However, please be sure that the proposal presents different material than has been presented in the past.  We do not include panels that are solicitations or advertisements for businesses or personal services.  Preference will be given to proposals that incorporate the voices of minority, immigrant/refugee, low-income, or LGBTQIA+ communities. We will also give consideration to proposals that include presenters in multiple roles and/or from more than one organization/institution. For example: (a service provider, scholar, and client from one organization, or representatives from two or more organizations working in collaboration. Submission Timeline:   May 31, 11:59pm (EST): Deadline for proposal submission.   May 15: Notification of acceptances.  June 28: Participant and OECR Introduction/Q&A Session. August 1: General registration opens. August 1st - 15th: Venue walk-throughs. Sunday, October 6th - Saturday, October 12: Baltimore City Civil Rights Week!

20 Boston-area landlords & property companies sued for discrimination

Housing Rights Initiative (HRI), a nonprofit housing watchdog group, has sued 20 Boston-area property companies and real estate brokers for allegedly discriminating against low-income tenants. The lawsuit, brought by the Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) and Handley Farah & Anderson, alleges landlords and brokers refused to rent to tenants with government-subsidized housing vouchers - which is illegal in Massachusetts. This is the first of its kind in Massachusetts.

LCR said in a statement that HRI used "testers" to act as prospective tenants requesting information about apartments. The companies and brokers at first "responded positively" to the inquiries, but then allegedly refused to accept housing vouchers, often called "Section 8" vouchers. Discrimination against voucher-holders continues patterns of de facto racial segregation among Boston neighborhoods, as residents of color thus must use housing subsidies solely in low-income areas with fewer public resources than predominant white neighborhoods.

The suit, filed in Suffolk Superior Court, includes photos of alleged conversations in which landlords and property brokers appear to tell prospective tenants they do not accept the vouchers. "One takeaway from our year-long investigation is that housing discrimination is alive and well in Boston," said Aaron Carr, HRI founder and executive director. He said the defendants named in the suit represent only "the tip of a very discriminatory iceberg," claiming many other landlords and brokers engage in similar practices.

The trade association MassLandlords commented that the state should provide better training to landlords on navigating housing laws and help simplify the process of renting to those with housing vouchers. None of the defendants appear to be members of the association.

HRI has brought similar lawsuits against real estate companies in New York City. "This is a national issue," Carr said, "but in Boston it seems particularly pronounced, which makes sense because Boston has a very tight market and in tight markets a lot of times you see shenanigans like this one."

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Read the February 21, 2024 WBUR article.

Click here to download the complaint.

Maryland Commission on Civil Rights and the SCREA Are Working Together to Reduce Discriminatory Housing Appraisals

The Maryland Commission on Civil Rights (MCCR) and the Maryland State Commission of Real Estate Appraisers, Appraisal Management Companies, and Home Inspectors (SCREA) will work together regarding fair housing issues and complaints regarding real estate appraisals. The main goal of this interagency cooperation agreement is to better enforce Title 20, Subtitle 7 of the Annotated Code of Maryland concerning appraisal bias.

This is being done because recent research suggests that there are racial and ethnic differences in home valuations. According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s 2021 appraisal statistics, 23.3% of homes in high minority tracts (80.1-100%) were undervalued. This is compared to 13.4% of homes in White tracts (0-50%) and 19.2% in minority tracts (50.1-80%). Bias plays a major factor in this statistic. While home appraisals are supposed to be independent, fair and objective estimates of market value so lenders can accurately evaluate risk, the results depend upon the appraiser’s expertise and familiarity with the neighborhood. The appraisal industry remains one of the country’s least diverse professions; 98% of appraisers are White, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“This is one of the major economic barriers that prohibit people of color from gaining generational wealth,” said Cleveland L Horton, II, Deputy Executive Director of MCCR. “By MCCR and SCREA formally working together, we can improve the appraisal process and create an equitable system that can be used to lift all Marylanders up the proverbial economic ladder.”

A formal memorandum of understanding solidifying this interagency cooperation between MCCR and SCREA will be signed on February 26th at 10 a.m. in MCCR’s headquarters (6 St Paul Street, Suite 900, Baltimore MD 21202.)

The Maryland Commission on Civil Rights (MCCR) represents the interest of the State to ensure equal opportunity for all Marylanders through enforcement of Title 20 of the State Government Article and Title 19 of the State Finance & Procurement Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.  MCCR investigates complaints of discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, health services, commercial leasing, and state contracts that are filed by members of protected classes under federal and state law.

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Read the February 15, 2024 MCCR press release.

MCCR & Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women present "Artistic Expression of Black Heritage: Celebrating Creativity" on February 21st

 

MCCR, in partnership with Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women, present "Artistic Expression of Black Heritage: Celebrating Creativity" at the Enoch Pratt Central Library (400 Cathedral St, Baltimore, MD 21201) on February 21, 2024 from 5pm - 6:30pm.  Click HERE to register.     Victim of Discrimination? Training & Partnerships HOME      ABOUT MCCR      SERVICES      PUBLICATIONS      EVENTS      PRESS      CONTACT US

Justice Department and North Carolina Reach $13.5 Million Agreement with First National Bank of Pennsylvania to Regarding Redlining

The First National Bank of Pennsylvania (FNB) has agreed to pay $13.5 million to resolve allegations by the U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the State of North Carolina that it engaged in a pattern or practice of lending discrimination by redlining predominantly Black and Hispanic North Carolina neighborhoods. Redlining is an illegal practice in which lenders avoid providing credit services to individuals living in communities of color because of the race, color, or national origin of residents in those communities.

The complaint alleges that from 2017-2021, FNB failed to provide mortgage lending services to predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Charlotte and Winston-Salem, and discouraged people seeking credit there from obtaining home loans. Instead, FNB’s home mortgage lending focused disproportionately on white areas of the cities. Other lenders had applications in predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods at 2.5 times the rate of FNB in Charlotte and 4 times the rate in Winston-Salem. FNB’s branches in both cities were also mostly located in predominantly white neighborhoods. The bank closed its only branch in a predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhood in Winston-Salem in 2021.

The complaint further alleges that FNB had mortgage loan officers working out of predominantly white areas to generate loan applications and that the bank did not track how they developed loan referrals or how they distributed the bank’s mortgage marketing materials.

Under the two proposed consent orders, FNB will invest $13.5 million to increase credit opportunities for communities of color in Charlotte and Winston-Salem, including: (1) $11.75 million in a loan subsidy fund to increase access to home mortgage, home improvement, and home refinance loans for residents of majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in FNB’s service areas; (2) $1 million on community partnerships to provide services related to credit, consumer financial education, homeownership, and foreclosure prevention for residents of predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in those areas; (3) $750,000 for advertising, outreach, consumer financial education, and credit counseling for predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in the areas; (4) open three new branches in predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in the two cities, with at least one mortgage banker assigned to each branch; (5) hire a director of community lending to oversee the development of lending in communities of color; (6) retain independent consultants to enhance its fair lending program and better meet the communities’ needs for mortgage credit; (7) conduct a community credit needs assessment; (8) evaluate its fair lending compliance management systems; and (9) conduct staff trainings.

With assets of over $45 billion, FNB is headquartered in Pennsylvania and operates approximately 350 branches throughout the District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. It is among the 100 largest US banks.

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Photo by Andrew Stapleton on Unsplash

Read the February 5, 2024 DOJ release.

Despite Milwaukee Anti-Discrimination Law, Landlords Continue to Explicitly Reject Section 8 Applicants

 

Milwaukee County in 2018 banned landlords from categorically rejecting recipients of housing assistance. More than five years later the county’s Office of Corporation Counsel, which is supposed to enforce the protections, says it has yet to receive a verified complaint of such discrimination. That’s not for a lack of discrimination, a Wisconsin Watch investigation found. Some landlords continue to explicitly reject Section 8 applicants — even saying so in public listings. Four Section 8 renters told Wisconsin Watch no one informed them about the protections or how to file a complaint.

Moreover, Milwaukee County officials now question whether they can enforce the provision. Income-based discrimination is the law in Wisconsin and 21 other states to various degrees. However, income-based protections in Wisconsin’s Open Housing Act allow landlords to refuse vouchers, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 1995. Milwaukee County Chief Corporation Counsel Margaret Daun told Wisconsin Watch her office questions whether the county has legal authority to enforce the ordinance.

Milwaukee County and the city of Milwaukee operate separate housing agencies that distribute Section 8 vouchers, with the majority coming through the city. Only the county’s authority mentions the 2018 protections in information packets meant to help renters navigate the program. Neither packet says how to report income-based discrimination to the county.

Section 8, the federal government’s largest low-income housing subsidy program, serves 2.3 million households nationwide, including more than 16,500 people in Milwaukee County in 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

It aims to broaden housing access for participants, but renters and housing advocates say landlords outside of historically disinvested neighborhoods rarely rent to people with vouchers — one of many factors limiting opportunities in Milwaukee and nationwide, particularly people of color.

Throughout the Milwaukee metro area, 85% of families of color holding vouchers lived in minority-concentrated neighborhoods — areas where just 38% of rental units were considered voucher-affordable, the analysis found.

Read the January 31, 2024 Wisconsin Watch article.