On the Air

SEATTLE - Kristina Miller, a Senior Equal Opportunity Specialist with the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at HUD in Seattle has spent a good chunk of time the last eight years working the room and the Internet, explaining the a-b-c's of the Fair Housing Act in nationwide Webinars as well as in-person workshops across the Northwest. All told, she's reached more than 10,000 people.

A long time coming, the Act - enacted as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 - was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson 50 years ago on April 11th, 1968, just a week after the assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther, King Jr. "Fair Housing for all, all human beings who live in this country," the President said (http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=28799) as he sat at a desk in the East Room of The White House, "is now a part of the American way of life."

The Act's purpose is simple and straightforward. "It shall be unlawful for any person or other entity whose business includes engaging in residential real estate-related transactions to discriminate against any person in making available such a transaction, or in the terms or conditions of such a transaction, because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin."

Those 52 words have transformed the way Americans live, affording each of us the right to decide where we want to live, raise our families and build our futures. The Act's rights and protections touch virtually every aspect of our nation's housing market, from renters to landlords, home buyers to home sellers, real estate agents to mortgage lenders and servicers. Ever since President Johnson put pen to paper, the right not to be discriminated against in housing hasn't been a "maybe" or an option. It's been the law of the land.

Passing a law is one thing. Putting it into practice, insuring it's the way housing professionals do business is another. That's the point of HUD's Fair Housing Fundamentals in-person workshops and Webinars. No wonder they almost always play to a full house.

For all the real estate professionals Kristina's workshops and webinars have reached you can be sure there are many, many more brokers and brokers, landlords and owners, lenders and even lawyers who want and need to make sure they know the do's and the don'ts of the Act. "We can open registration for one or the other on a Friday afternoon," she explains, "and already referring folks to a waiting list by the next Tuesday. Demand always outpaces supply."

Which is why as part of JID's celebration in 2018 of the Fair Housing Act's 50th anniversary, in HUD's Office of, Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity decided to have Assistant Secretary Anna Maria Farías and Kristina Miller tape a 90-minute Fair Housing Fundamentals workshop for posting on the Internet. It went "live" on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egXPe7HT7tc&feature=youtu.be) in August, 2018. Now, anytime night or day, anyone and everyone who wants to know the why's, what's and how's of the Fair Housing Act can do so wherever and whenever they want. It's just a click or two away. And as a real estate professional, you can be sure it's worth your time and worth that click or two.

We hope you'll give it a look. "Here at HUD," explains Assistant Secretary Farías, "it's our job is to insure that every person across this great nation has the chance to obtain housing. But we need your help," she says. "We look forward to working with you to transform America's neighborhoods into communities of choice and opportunity."

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