The fair housing theme of "Fair Housing is Not an Option, It's the Law" permeated the mindset of participants in Nashville on April 21st during the annual Tennessee Fair Housing Matters conference.

FHEO Deputy Assistant Secretary Karen Newton and Kelvin Jones, III, Ex Dir, Metro Human Relations Commission - Nashville.

Sponsored by the Tennessee Human Rights Commission (www.tennessee.gov/humanrights/index.html), the Nashville Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency (MDHA) (www.nashville.gov/mdha/index.htm) - the city's housing provider, and with other major partners, some 150 participants came to listen to speakers; participate in workshops; and to hear the latest discussion to promote fair housing and equal opportunity.

The Tennessee Fair Housing Matters Conference was attended by Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) Deputy Assistant Secretary Karen Newton, who was keynote speaker during the Opening Plenary Session, as well as directors of the Tennessee Human Rights Commission-Amber Gooding, MDHA-Phil Ryan, Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA) (www.tennessee.gov/thda/) -Ted Fellman, and HUD Nashville Field Office Director, Bill Dirl, to name a few. Dirl welcomed attendees and introduced FHEO Assistant Secretary Newton, who relayed HUD Secretary Alfonso Jackson's greetings. Newton discussed some of the typical examples of housing discrimination found today across the country related to the major protections of the Fair Housing Act.

(L to R) Bill Dirl, HUD-Nashville Field Office Director, Tracey McCartney, Dir, Tennessee Fair Housing Council, FHEO Deputy Assistant Secretary Karen Newton, Amber Gooding, Executive Director, Tennessee Human Rights Commission.

The Fair Housing Act (oj.gov/crt/housing/title8.htm), known as Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings, and in other housing-related transactions, based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status (including children under the age of 18 living with parents of legal custodians, pregnant women, and people securing custody of children under the age of 18), and handicap (disability). It is one of several enforceable laws and Presidential Executive Orders that HUD monitors.

Enforcement of the Fair Housing Act and these major laws is a directive of the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. There are FHEO regional offices throughout the country that anyone can contact if they want to file a discrimination complaint under the Fair Housing Act, as well as state field offices.

Breakout sessions included speakers who were proponents of fairness for the disabled, immigrants, and families. Topics covered during the sessions included "Traditional and Non-Traditional Mortgage Lending", "Sex Discrimination and Survivors of Domestic Violence", "Fairness in Home Ownership - steering, insurance redlining and mortgage discrimination", "Rental Challenges for Non-Citizens - immigration status and documentation issues", and "Development of Affordable Rental Housing".

However, Luncheon Keynote speaker Shanna Smith, Executive Director of the National Fair Housing Alliance reported on some recent findings seen by FEMA. When the country asked for volunteers to offer available housing for hurricane evacuees, whether for purchasing, renting or co-habitation in their own homes, many respondents made racial remarks and applied conditions to making their properties eligible to the evacuees. These remarks were discussed to expose the reality that many in our country still do not recognize equal opportunity and fair housing laws, or laws related to reasonable accommodation and housing discrimination in America.

A childrens art gallery was posted to portray " A World Without Discrimination".

With regards to reasonable accommodations for the disabled, whether in single or multi-family settings, the "not in my backyard" (NIMBY) attitude is very obvious in America. People still believe that certain types of people or certain types of housing will negatively affect the value of their housing without studying the facts. On April 3, 2006, a recent HUD press release stated that discrimination complaints are on the rise from people with disabilities.

Evidence of resistance to allowing minorities or people with different national origins into many neighborhoods is seen, such as the recent findings related to finding housing for hurricane Katrina evacuees indicated. People sometimes believe that they can "out-price" minorities or others by moving into higher-cost neighborhoods. They may not realize that providing equal housing opportunity to all is not an option. It is the law.

Professionals in the building trades, real estate and mortgage industry are knowledgeable of the laws, but there are many who believe that fair and equal housing opportunity is just for their group, or race, or nationality, or income level. Information and data related to housing discrimination is available by viewing HUD's FY 2005 Annual Report on Fair Housing, The State of Fair Housing.

Many organizations exhibited information on their programs, including the City of Murfreesboro, City of Nashville-MDHA, THDA, USDA, Tennessee Human Rights Commission, Tennessee Fair Housing Council, HUD and others. Speakers during the breakout sessions included mortgage lenders - Retta Gardner, Guaranty Mortgage Company, George Howard, G.M. Howard Financial/CFIC Home Mortgage; USDA-Nashville Homeownership Director, Christopher Westbrook; reasonable accommodation and minority housing advocates - Kenton Dickerson, Center for Independent Living, and Miguel Torres, President of the Middle Tennessee Chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals - employed by Affordable Housing Resources; attorneys and legal advice - L. Patricia Mock, Clarksville Office of the Legal Aid of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands; Tracey McCartney, Esq., Director, Tennessee Fair Housing Council; Angelita Fisher, Esq., King and Bullow; Yvette Sebelist, Esq., Siskind Susser - rental housing advocates, Rusty Lawrence, Urban Housing Solutions and Rev. Bill Barnes, Organization for Affordable Rentals, to name a few.

Attorneys familiar with immigration law denounced the fears that immigrants are now enduring with regards to jobs, housing and equality. There is no law that states you cannot own a home if you are not a citizen. There are ways to qualify non-citizens without a social security number. Use of government-approved income tax numbers is just one way lenders are approving credit for new homebuyers. One's creditworthiness is not based upon your citizenship. In Middle Tennessee there is a huge underserved immigrant population and an emerging economy supported by moderate-income people. Many of them need housing. One way that Nashvillians and Tennesseans can help is to provide them decent, safe and sanitary housing options - fair and equitably.