November 28, 2014, Improving Access for Persons with Limited English Proficiency

USDA, “Guidance to Federal Financial Assistance Recipients Regarding the Title VI Prohibition Against National Origin Discrimination Affecting Persons with Limited English Proficiency,” 79 Fed. Reg. 70,771. Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP),” the guidance clarifies the obligations of entities that receive federal financial assistance from USDA. It provides guidance for USDA recipients in meeting their existing obligations to provide meaningful access for LEP persons.

February 3, 2012, Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity

The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportu- nity issued a regulation to prohibit LGBT discrimination in federally-assisted housing programs. The new regulations ensure that the Department’s core housing programs are open
to all eligible persons, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. In the United States at least 22 states and many major cities have enacted laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

2009, Shepard-Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act

In 2009 hate crimes based on sexual orientation or gender identity are included as punishable by federal law.

August 10, 2009, Anti-Segregation Settlement

U.S. ex rel. Anti-Discrimination Center v. Westchester County. The importance of local and state government fair housing compliance was made evident with a landmark $62.5 million settlement. Westchester promised to integrate the predominantly White Westchester County and failed to do so while certifying it was while receiving HUD and other federal funds.

September 25, 2008, The ADA Amendments Act

Signed into law by President George W. Bush, the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act clarified and broadened the term “disability.”

December 5, 2008, The Future of Fair Housing Report

The National Commission on Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity issues a fair housing report. Chaired by Henry Cisneros and Jack Kemp, the commission issued “The Future of Fair Housing” report, which detailed the findings of a national, bipartisan fair housing commission to investigate the state of housing discrimination and segregation 40 years after passage of the Fair Housing Act.

Jan. 22, 2007, HUD Guidance: Limited English Proficiency

Department of Housing and Urban Development issued guidance for making sure people who are Limited English Proficient have access to critical housing services. “Final Guidance to Federal Financial Assistance Recipients Regarding Title VI Prohibition Against National Origin Discrimination Affecting Limited English Proficient Persons,” 72 Fed. Reg. 2732.

June 22, 1999, Unjust Segregation

Olmstead v. L.C. The Olmstead case was brought by two women with disabilities who were institutionalized and denied access to housing in the community.

1994 to Present, Intermountain Fair Housing Council

Since 1994 IFHC has filed more than 168 design and construction complaints, likely the main factor in motivating the Idaho legislature to incorporate the International Building Code requirements into the statewide building code to ensure that new covered multi-family housing complies with the FHA’s design and construction requirements.

July 26, 1990, Americans With Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. § 12101) is signed into law by President George H. W. Bush.

September 13, 1988, The Fair Housing Amendments Act

Under President Reagan, the amendment extends protection to families with children (familial status) and to persons with physical and mental disabilities and endowed the law with powerful enforcement mechanisms.

January 5, 1988, The National Fair Housing Alliance

Founded and headquartered in Washington DC, the NFHA is the only national organization dedicated solely to ending discrimination in housing.

January 1, 1987, Segregation in Yonkers

U.S. v. Yonkers (2nd Cir.) A landmark decision simultaneously finding that Yonkers and Yonkers Public Schools intentionally segregated housing and schools, based on race, for 40 years. This case was unique because it merged housing and school desegreg- ation claims on the assumption that housing segregation is at the core of school segregation.

January 1, 1985, Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment

Shellhammer v. Lewallen (6th Circ.) Shellhammer was the first federal case to hold that sexual harassment in housing violates the FHA. The owner of the tenant’s building asked her to pose for nude photos. When she refused, she and her husband were evicted. The district court found the eviction was in response to the tenant’s rejection and the owner’s conduct constituted quid pro quo sexual harassment.

February 24, 1982, Standing for Fair Housing Organizations

Havens Realty Corp. v. Coleman. This case was brought by a group of complainants, including a prospective renter, two testers, and a fair housing organization. This landmark Supreme Court decision provided standing to both testers and fair housing organizations, and ultimately leading to the re-invigorations/formation of scores of private groups. The Court held that fair housing organizations had standing to sue because the owner’s racial steering practices impaired the fair housing organizations’ ability to provide housing counseling and referral services.

April 20, 1976, First Public Housing Desegregation Lawsuit in the U.S.

Hills v. Gautreaux. The Supreme Court ruled HUD can be ordered to adopt a housing assistance plan that ignores municipal boundaries. After knowingly funding the Chicago Housing Authority’s racially discriminatory housing program, HUD was ordered to alleviate the effects of these past practices by developing public housing in desegregated neighborhoods. As a result, eligible families were given Section 8 housing vouchers, which they used to pay for private rental apartments in neighborhoods less than 30% African-American.

August 22, 1974, Sex as a Protected Class

Sex is added as a protected status to the Fair Housing Act.

September 26, 1973, Rehabilitation Act

Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act was the first disability civil rights law to be enacted in the United States. It prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in programs that receive federal financial assistance and set the stage for enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

December 7, 1972, Standing for Current Tenants

Trafficante v Metropolitan Life Insurance, The U.S. Supreme Court offered important judicial guidance on interpreting the Fair Housing Act, ruling that current tenants in a large apartment complex had standing to sue their landlord for discrimination against minority applicants; it also established four tenets of statutory construction: (1) the statute should be construed broadly; (2) integration is an important goal of the FHA; (3) courts may, in appropriate cases, rely on case law under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (prohibiting discrim- ination in employment) to help interpret the FHA; and (4) HUD interpretations of the FHA are entitled to substantial weight.

June 17, 1968, Prevention of Racial Discrimination

Jones v. Mayer. A landmark United States Supreme Court case which held that Congress could regulate the sale of private property in order to prevent racial discrimination.

April 11, 1968, The Fair Housing Act

President Johnson signed into law the Fair Housing Act of 1968 as a way to urge unity and peace and quell racial tensions. The law prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, and national origin.

April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Is Assassinated

In February of 1968, two Black garbage collectors were crushed by a malfunctioning truck in Memphis. Frustrated by the city’s response to the latest event in a long pattern of neglect and abuse of its Black employees, 1,300 Black sanitation workers went on strike.

The strikes continued for months and Dr. King visited multiple times to help organize non-violent protests and encourage compromise on the part of city officials. He was visiting Memphis at the time of his assassination on April 4, 1968.

On April 8, an estimated 42,000 people (led by Coretta Scott King, union leaders and the Southern Christian Leaderships Conference) silently marched through Memphis in honor of King, demanding that the Mayor give in to the union’s requests.

On April 16, Memphis City Council finally recognized the union and agreed to guarantee a better wage. Although the deal ended the strike, it was not until the union threatened to strike again several months later that the city ultimately followed through with its commitment.

We recognize The Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strikes of 1968 as a foundational moment in the movement to combat what is now referred to as Environmental Racism.

“Our society must come to respect the sanitation worker. He is as significant as the physician, for if he doesn’t do his job, disease is rampant.”

– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., A Speech given to protestors and Striking sanitation workers at the mason temple in Memphis on march 23, 1968

July 28, 1967, Kerner Commission

On July 28, 1967 President Lyndon B. Johnson constituted the Kerner Commission to identify the genesis of the violent 1967 riots that killed 43 in Detroit and 26 in Newark while causing fewer casualties in 23 other cities.

Many Americans blamed the riots on outside agitators or young Black men, who represented the largest and most visible group of rioters. But, in March 1968, the Kerner Commission turned those assumptions upside-down, declaring white racism—not Black anger—turned the key that unlocked urban American turmoil.

“Commonly sparked by repressive and violent police actions, urban uprisings were political acts of self-defense and racial liberation on a mass, public scale. Legislative successes at the federal level with the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts were not reflected in the daily lives of African-Americans facing police misconduct, economic inequality, segregated housing, and inferior educations.”

– William S. Pretzer, Senior Curator of the National Museum of African American History and Culture

June 12,1967, Federal Ruling Legalizing Interracial Marriage

Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 is a landmark civil rights decision of the United States Supreme Court which struck down all state laws banning interracial marriage.