HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES MADE EQUAL (HOME) *

phone (716) 854-1400 s fax (716) 854-1140*

Fighting For Civil Rights Since 1963

Insight Spring 2003

Something to Celebrate

By Grace A. Andriette, Esq.

In these days of heightened fear and suspicion, it is important to reflect upon and celebrate the doctrine of civil liberties upon which our nation was founded. The current climate of fear creates an environment where the civil rights of many Americans may be compromised and the potential for discrimination is sharply increased.

The national Fair Housing Act, passed in April of 1968 one week after Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination, is one of many laws that codifies the civil rights of American citizens by prohibiting housing discrimination. Under this federal law, and subsequent New York State legislation, discrimination in the sale, rental and advertising of housing based upon race, color, national origin, religion, age, gender, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or familial status is unlawful. April was declared Fair Housing Month to commemorate the events of April, 1968 and the passage of the Act.

To raise public awareness of the persistence and prevalence of housing discrimination, and to inform people of their rights under fair housing law, the Erie County Fair Housing Partnership of which HOME is a member is promoting and participating in a series of activities this April. This celebration and acknowledgment of our Nation’s fair housing protections are especially timely given current events.  For example, a government warning issued last May advising apartment managers, public housing authorities and property owners to be on the lookout for possible terrorist activity has raised concerns in the civil rights community that discrimination will affect the ability of some to rent the housing of their choice.

However, Mel Martinez, Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development has reminded us that, “The very fabric of our nation is the rich diversity of our people....Now is the time for unity.  In that spirit, I am confident that this Nation’s families can count on the support of the housing industry and their fellow Americans.”   Please join us in celebrating that diversity by joining us for some (or all) of the following Fair Housing Month events: