• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Fair Housing Project

A Project of Legal Aid of North Carolina

A Project of Legal Aid of North Carolina

Header Right

  • Resources
  • Donate
  • Home
  • News
  • Services
    • Education & Outreach
    • Legal Representation
    • Fair Housing Advocate Award Recipients
    • Become a Fair Housing Tester
  • Know Your Rights
    • Fair Housing Basics
      • Fair Housing Law Overview
      • Enforcement in North Carolina
      • Resources
      • Our Brochures
      • Our Videos
    • Know Your Rights
      • Race & Color
      • Religion
      • National Origin
      • Sex & Sexual Harassment
      • Familial Status
      • Disability
  • En Español
    • Discriminación en la Vivienda
    • Contacto
    • Publicaciones
  • Calendar
  • Links
    • All Links
    • Fair Housing Working Group
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us

Search Fair Housing Project

Get the Fair Housing Project's Newsletter

Just enter your email below and we'll keep you posted when we have new articles. We won't share your email address and you can unsubscribe at any time. By submitting your e-mail address, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our Privacy Policy (http://www.legalaidnc.org/privacy). We use MailChimp as our e-mail automation platform. By submitting your e-mail address, you also acknowledge that the information you provide will be transferred to MailChimp for processing in accordance with their Privacy Policy and Terms (https://mailchimp.com/legal).


Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required

View previous campaigns.

MENUMENU
  • Home
  • News
  • Services
    • Education & Outreach
    • Legal Representation
    • Fair Housing Advocate Award Recipients
    • Become a Fair Housing Tester
  • Know Your Rights
    • Fair Housing Basics
      • Fair Housing Law Overview
      • Enforcement in North Carolina
      • Resources
      • Our Brochures
      • Our Videos
    • Know Your Rights
      • Race & Color
      • Religion
      • National Origin
      • Sex & Sexual Harassment
      • Familial Status
      • Disability
  • En Español
    • Discriminación en la Vivienda
    • Contacto
    • Publicaciones
  • Calendar
  • Links
    • All Links
    • Fair Housing Working Group
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / Featured / 44th Anniversary of Fair Housing Act

44th Anniversary of Fair Housing Act

April 10, 2012by Jeff Dillman

April 11, 2012, marks the 44th anniversary of the signing of the federal Fair Housing Act. The law’s enactment came after several years of debate in Congress and was spurred by the April 4, 1968, assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The original 1968 fair housing law prohibited discrimination based on race, color, national origin, and religion. A 1974 amendment prohibited sex (gender) discrimination, including sexual harassment in housing. In 1988, Congress passed addition amendments that prohibited discrimination based on disability, and familial status (families with children).

As the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development notes on their website:

The enactment of the federal Fair Housing Act on April 11, 1968 came only after a long and difficult journey. From 1966-1967, Congress regularly considered the fair housing bill, but failed to garner a strong enough majority for its passage. However, when the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, President Lyndon Johnson utilized this national tragedy to urge for the bill’s speedy Congressional approval. Since the 1966 open housing marches in Chicago, Dr. King’s name had been closely associated with the fair housing legislation. President Johnson viewed the Act as a fitting memorial to the man’s life work, and wished to have the Act passed prior to Dr. King’s funeral in Atlanta.

Another significant issue during this time period was the growing casualty list from Vietnam. The deaths in Vietnam fell heaviest upon young, poor African-American and Hispanic infantrymen. However, on the home front, these men’s families could not purchase or rent homes in certain residential developments on account of their race or national origin. Specialized organizations like the NAACP, the GI Forum and the National Committee Against Discrimination In Housing lobbied hard for the Senate to pass the Fair Housing Act and remedy this inequity. Senators Edward Brooke and Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts argued deeply for the passage of this legislation. In particular, Senator Brooke, the first African-American ever to be elected to the Senate by popular vote, spoke personally of his return from World War II and inability to provide a home of his choice for his new family because of his race.

With the cities rioting after Dr. King’s assassination, and destruction mounting in every part of the United States, the words of President Johnson and Congressional leaders rang the Bell of Reason for the House of Representatives, who subsequently passed the Fair Housing Act. Without debate, the Senate followed the House in its passage of the Act, which President Johnson then signed into law.

Read more about the history of the Fair Housing Act on HUD’s website here.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Filed Under: Featured, News Tagged With: fair housing act, HUD

Previous Post: « DOJ Sues NY Mortgage Company for Lending Discrimination
Next Post: Justice Dept. Settles Lending Suit Involving Pregnancy Discrimination »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

More from this Newsletter Issue

Recent Newsletters

  • Newsletter – December 2022
  • Newsletter – Summer 2022
  • Newsletter – Spring 2022
  • Newsletter – Winter 2022
  • Newsletter – Summer 2021
  • Newsletter – Spring 2021
  • Newsletter – Winter 2021
  • Newsletter – Fall 2020
  • Newsletter – Summer 2020
  • Newsletter – Spring 2020
  • Contact Us

    Fair Housing Project
    P.O. Box 26087
    Raleigh, NC 27611-6087
    1-855-797-3247
    info@fairhousingnc.org

    Our Mission

    The Fair Housing Project of Legal Aid of North Carolina works to eliminate housing discrimination and to ensure equal housing opportunity for all people through education, outreach, public policy initiatives, advocacy and enforcement.

     

    Legal Aid of North Carolina offers many services, which you can learn about at their website.

    Disclaimer

    The materials contained on this website are for information and education purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Legal Aid of North Carolina does not provide legal assistance by email. Contact the Fair Housing Project or a private attorney if you need to speak with an attorney regarding your particular situation. View our complete disclaimer.

    Copyright © 2023 Fair Housing Project, a project of Legal Aid North Carolina
    224 South Dawson Street, Raleigh, NC 27601 • 1-855-797-3247 • info@fairhousingnc.org
    Website by Tomatillo Design