HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES MADE EQUAL (HOME) *

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

Fighting For Civil Rights Since 1963

ALTHERIA ANDERSON became a client of HOME in 1988 after being locked out of her home by a landlord who did not want blacks in his apartment any more. That was only the tip of the iceberg—her landlord had also told her she could only live there if she didn’t have children, and during her tenancy had chased her three-year-old nephew with a rake, called her and her relatives "niggers" and spat on her.

After HOME helped her file a case with the New York State Division of Human Rights, she was victimized again by a system that forced her to wait nearly 10 years to get her day in court. Speaking on behalf of all those whose cases were delayed by the DHR, she said "I got to wonder if these people realize that it’s not just paper, but that we’re all human beings and we got hurt" Although she was very upset, and in fact was hospitalized during the ordeal for her "nervous stomach," she demonstrated the courage and perseverance necessary to see her case through. Additionally, she was willing to speak out about her ordeal, appearing on AM Buffalo, and in the Buffalo News.

While waiting for a decision in her case, she said "Some people might think it’s not worth it. But it is worth it. There was harm done and I don’t want no one else to ever have to go through what I went through."

DR. ARTHUR BUTLER was one the first members of HOME and remains one of the most active. He is the only person other than Dan Acker to hold the position of honorary president. He moved to Buffalo in the 60’s but, he said, "I believed in the mission that HOME has long before I ever lived in Buffalo. The particular thing which caused me to join HOME was that Jim Hecht was a friend of mine. He had a project he wanted me to work on which was to look at how the BMHA [Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority] was admitting people…We did everything ourselves and Jim Hecht was very, very active and very bright…he coordinated everything and he kept on top of what I was doing using the results of my investigation to put pressure on BMHA."

Other early activities of HOME that Dr. Butler became involved with were focused on ending the blatant discrimination in the real estate business-- particularly toward African Americans interested in purchasing homes in the suburbs. Dr. Butler recalls: "We had the signature gathering…then we had the big meeting in Kleinhans. We completely filled the hall... [We were] successful in getting the Secretary of State who was in charge of issuing real estate licenses to put pressure on real estate people. It was always an uphill battle, but at that time our objective was at least partially accomplished.

In terms of HOME’s accomplishments certainly the fact that we now get newspapers to not put in discriminatory ads--that I think is a great accomplishment. One thing that I have participated in and have pleasure doing is the Joanne Champion Granger Scholarship…one of the big things, is a big increase in financial support allowing us to expand our paid staff of zero to 12… Our original office was a telephone in a church [now our] stature in the City is far beyond what we had. We may not get rid of discrimination, but we have made a difference through individual cases."

PAULINE CLAY and her husband relocated to Buffalo in the early 1960’s from Urbana, Illinois. Her husband was offered relocation assistance through his company, yet this was of little assistance. Mrs. Clay explains: "Due to the Gentleman’s agreement between White realtors and Black realtors only a few areas were available to black families, none of which were areas where we wanted to live…" There were only two places they could show us that we could rent, not buy like we wanted to. A white realtor came out to help us relocate, but when she arrived and saw us, she cried and apologized and explained that she just couldn’t show us a house to purchase." She notes, "My housing search was very frustrating. I became angry--I always felt that I had a right to live where I could afford and work where I was qualified." The Clays ended up renting a flat.

Her experience with discrimination drew Mrs. Clay to the fledgling organization called HOME where she became a charter member and a tester. At the time, she said, "There weren’t a lot of members of HOME, but all of the members were hardworking members." As a tester Mrs. Clay’s job was to make sure that realtors were complying with the Fair Housing Act. Ironically Mrs. Clay’s light skin belied her identity, so she often took her daughter and a friend along while she looked at houses.

Finally her years of fighting for civil rights paid off. Barriers began to break down and this resulted in a personal victory for Mrs. Clay. She notes, "My work at HOME gave my family an opportunity to move to North Buffalo where I am still living and I saw my friends move into other areas and this gave me a great a sense of accomplishment."

DR. JAMES L. HECHT was one of the 16 members of the Niagara Frontier Council for Freedom of Choice in Housing who, in August of 1963, signed the articles of incorporation of Housing Opportunities Made Equal. He was the driving force behind the first years of HOME: serving first as executive vice president, then as president and finally as chairman. He believes that prosecution of illegal discrimination can be an effective deterrent, but just as important to combat is the perception of discrimination. He explains: "The price people of color pay for discrimination is far greater that what is denied to them directly. Because they live in a racist society, many are blinded to their opportunities and crippled in achieving their potential."

Dr. Hecht was the author of Because It Is Right: Integration in Housing. The book, published in 1970, is a chronicle of the early years of the fair housing movement in America with an emphasis on the early work of HOME. His interest in housing also led him to become one of the founders and then vice president of a non-profit housing development corporation responsible in only three years for building or rehabilitating 2,000 units of housing.

In 1970, Dr. Hecht moved to Richmond, Va. where he founded HOME of Richmond and worked on the Havens case in which the U.S. Supreme Court granted standing to fair housing organizations. The case was a major civil rights victory.

Dr. Hecht says, "As I have grown older I have come to realize more and more that what gives the most satisfaction in life is what one can do for others—and the most important reward is the feeling that one has about [ones]self"

DENISE HOAG was pregnant, raising children and working part-time to put herself through school when she made an ugly discovery. A client of her employer, Able Communications, was using the answering service to screen and steer prospective tenants for their apartment complexes. Ms. Hoag was asked to denote anyone who "sounded black" or lived in a "black neighborhood" with a Code 2. While her co-workers went along with these instructions, Ms. Hoag was disgusted. "I was in shock at first and then I was appalled that people were doing this and getting away with it. I couldn’t believe these landlords expected us to follow their wishes and their racism-- they didn’t even know us and they just assumed that it was part of our job to comply--that just sickened me."

The prospect of losing her job frightened Ms. Hoag, but she knew she had to do something. As she explains, "I have always believed that if you don’t try to do something to change racist attitudes then you are just as guilty as the people with those racist attitudes and my heart went out to the people who were looking for a place to live and they were being turned down just because of their race." So Ms. Hoag got into contact with HOME through a friend. Working with HOME was a very positive experience, she said. "I was glad to know that there was and an organization out there that that fights against injustice. Often minorities go unheard because they don’t think anyone will listen"

Looking back Ms. Hoag relates, "This case has had a very deep impact on my life. It impacted how I look at people and it made me aware of the people around me. I began to see first hand how racism and discrimination are so prevalent, but still things can be done and justice can be served."

SALLY METZGER is a charter member of HOME and served as its secretary from its inception until 2001. In her honor, the Sarah G. Metzger Human Rights award was established. When asked about one moment she considers to be her most important, she says: It’s probably the continuity over the years and [working on] drawing more and more people in."

She states she was "present the evening they got it off the ground." It had previously been an organization connected to churches: the Niagara Frontier Council for Freedom of Choice in Housing. She remembers that "there in the Council of Churches basement we came to an agreement to go ahead and incorporate and draft by-laws. Around 30 to 50 people were present. It was an exiting time…"

Involvement in a housing project at Swarthmore College made Ms. Metzger as she said, "Primed for a civil rights movement." After she moved to Buffalo, she became "aware early on that a group of clergy was doing something…There was a meeting at the Michigan Ave Baptist Church about housing conditions. Whoever was mayor at the time had police take down the license plate numbers of everyone in attendance. Nothing came of it and it was probably just meant to intimidate the participants. This [meeting] was a subversive act" and one of many meetings before and after the beginning of HOME.

She recalls "At the beginning…there were public meetings once a month to discuss what could be done and get some new members." One time they got 30 new members in one evening. "We would always try to get ministers join because then they would get their congregations involved. We got members by attraction – word of mouth, church groups like the UCC, Friends, UU [Unitarian Universalist]. We also had a Jewish presence"

Ms. Metzger participated in public meetings to try to overcome some common fears of integration, especially in Amherst where she lived. One such meeting actually drew 500 attendees. She relates: "People were fearful of having Black families on their street. They were probably afraid that the property values would drop. Many people were sympathetic but afraid of what neighbors would think [if they took a stand]"

She says she was inspired to remain involved "because the people were so nice, [they] had to be more adventurous, and [they were] generally unusually well spoken and they would testify to their experience."

JAMES I. MYERS, ESQ. became a member of HOME in 1969 working on discrimination cases and advocating for a City-wide fair housing ordinance. He said: "HOME was a volunteer organization—there was no paid staff at that time, we were just a group of good dedicated people who shared common goals to try to insure that people would not be discriminated against in terms of housing because we felt discrimination was wrong and evil." He went on to serve as HOME’s Chair from 1977 to 1980.

Mr. Myers represented people that were discriminated against, because, he explains "I shared [HOME’s] beliefs, commitment and goals in terms of what they were trying to accomplish and the whole purpose in terms of litigation was to provide a deterrent for people that would discriminate." One of the most significant cases that Mr. Myers tried involved the Becker family who were denied housing because they had children. This landmark victory laid the groundwork for other families in New York State who faced discriminated in the housing market based on their family’s size.

Mr. Myers also dealt with the blatant racism the 1960’s and 1970’s. He explained: "One of the cases I remember clearly was a nice young Black woman who was an assistant vice president at M&T and was rejected for housing. We brought a lawsuit and it was tried twice--the first time it got mistried, the second time it was a success. By today's standards [the award] wasn’t much but back then they awarded $600 compensatory damages, $2,400 attorney's fees and $600 punitive damages." He went on to note that, "[Discrimination] cases were very important to try to discourage discrimination." To this day, Mr. Myers remains a dedicated member of HOME as he reflects, "being involved with HOME gives me an opportunity to contribute to a cause that I feel very strongly about and one I believe is right."

RODNEY PIERCE lived in the Friends Meeting House at 72 North Parade during the time Housing Opportunities Made Equal was headquartered there. Monthly meetings were held either at the meeting house or the Unitarian church during that time. He was the treasurer from HOME’s inception until he left the city in 1965 and he has remained a member ever since.

During those early years when HOME was an all-volunteer organization, he also was a "tester", answered the phone, and did public education about HOME and fair housing (sometimes, as he recalls, to less than receptive audiences.) He feels his most important contribution is being part of the formation of HOME. He says "I’m fuzzy about what designated the actual beginning of HOME because we were functioning as an entity before incorporation."

He was also was an advocate for fair housing in his own neighborhood. At the time when he lived on North Parade, the Coles were the only Black family living on the block. It was, as he says, "an all White enclave in a Black neighborhood." He recalls early resistance to changing this status; when the house next door was put up for sale and the owner showed it to a black family, there was resistance by neighbors who told Mr. Pierce "we don’t want any of his kind" and "we want the right kind of family…we are interested in good neighbors…they would take a lesser price for a White family" The owner’s son said that "It is hard to sell on this street to a White family" and assured Mr. Pierce that he didn’t want to blemish the neighborhood, telling him of the two price standard (a lower price for Whites). Mr. Pierce responded that it would not blemish the neighborhood at all. "I told him that’s illegal.  I’ll report you to the Attorney General if I hear you have done that. Surprisingly, the neighbor responded ‘I wish all neighbors felt that way.’" Eventually, the house was sold to a Black family.