HUD Celebrates Fair Housing Month: Governor of Iowa Signs Proclamation

To commemorate the Fair Housing Act, HUD celebrates Fair Housing Month every April. To draw attention to Fair Housing Month, Des Moines Equal Opportunity Specialist Cynthia Ferrell requested that the Governor of Iowa sign a proclamation declaring Fair Housing Month in Iowa on April 20, 2012.

April 2012 is the 44th anniversary of the passage of the Fair Housing Act. On April 11, 1968, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Title VIII of that law is referred to as the Fair Housing Act. In its original form, the Fair Housing Act prohibited discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, color, religion, and national origin. Since 1968, the Act has been expanded to include sex, handicap and familial status. Forty-four years since its passage, many of us enjoy and take for granted the Fair Housing Act's protections.

Fair housing bills were introduced in Congress in 1966 and 1967, but were never passed. The assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4, 1968, and subsequent rioting, served as the impetus to memorialize his efforts to desegregate neighborhoods in America. Also leading to the passage of the Fair Housing Act was the inability of returning African American and Hispanic Vietnam veterans and their families to purchase or rent homes in certain regions because of their race or national origin. As a result of these events, House of Representatives passed the Fair Housing Act, followed by the Senate without debate. The Act was signed into law by President Johnson before Dr. King's funeral took place in Atlanta. Shortly thereafter, in June 1968 the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co. It held that the Civil Rights Act of 1866 banned private, as well as state, racial discrimination in housing.

Governor Branstad (seated) signing proclamation as 18 others watch

Consequently, HUD Des Moines Equal Opportunity Specialist Cynthia Ferrell's request was granted. Iowa Governor Terry Branstad signed a Proclamation for Fair Housing Month in the Governor's office at the State Capitol in Des Moines, Iowa. Ms. Ferrell also invited representatives of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, the Des Moines Human Rights Commission, the Iowa Realty Association, and Des Moines Board of Realtors to the proclamation signing.

Ms. Ferrell is pictured above to the right of Governor Branstad (seated). To the right and over Ms. Ferrell's shoulder is Mikel Johnson, Human Rights Specialist at the City of Des Moines Human Rights Commission. Also, to the right is Beth Townsend, Executive Director of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, and members of her staff. To the left of Ms. Ferrell are Rudy Simms, Director of the Des Moines Human Rights Commission (standing) and several representatives of the Iowa Realty Association and the Des Moines Board of Realtors as well as the Executive Director of the Iowa Finance Authority Dave Jamison.

Both the Iowa Civil Rights Commission and the Des Moines Human Rights Commission enforce statutes which are substantially equivalent to the Fair Housing Act. Both agencies receive annual Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) grants from HUD to finance the investigation of housing discrimination complaints and the enforcement activities.

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