CHICAGO – This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act of 1968, an amendment to federal civil rights law that guarantees freedom of discrimination in the rental or purchase of homes and other housing-related matters. However, even four decades later, discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion or other factors continues to cause problems for those seeking housing in America.
The Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois and Jane Addams Hull House Association are marking the passage of this important anniversary by bringing together professionals to look ahead and to move beyond anti-discrimination enforcement to examine other barriers to integration. The conference, titled The Next 40 Years of Fair Housing: Developing an Agenda for Integration for the 21st Century, will be held at the University of Illinois at Chicago on Tuesday, October 7, 2008.
“The Fair Housing Act is landmark legislation that brings together questions of civil rights with fairness and civil justice,” said Robert F. Rich, director of IGPA. “This important conference presents a wonderful opportunity to examine these themes.”
The conference begins at 9 a.m. in Student Center East, 750 S. Halsted, on the UIC campus. It is free of charge and open to any individual or agency with an interest in fair housing, and will conclude at 4:30 p.m. Conference sessions will focus on government policy, individual behavior, and policies or programs that promote integration. Those sessions will lead to a final session where conference participants will be asked to develop an action agenda.
Panelists and moderators for the day include: Illinois State Rep. Karen A. Yarbrough, D-Broadview; James H. Carr, National Community Reinvestment Coalition; Sylvia Puente, Center for Metropolitan Chicago Initiatives, Institute for Latino Studies at Notre Dame University; John Petruszak, Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance; Ruben Feliciano,Latino Policy Forum; Camille Charles, professor of sociology at the University of Pennsylvania; and Robin Kelly of the Illinois treasurer’s office.
"The speakers include an exciting mix of prominent researchers and policy experts on race and housing from across the country, and policymakers and community leaders doing critical work on housing integration from across the region," said IGPA’s Maria Krysan, an associate professor of sociology at UIC and a coordinator for the conference.
Registration for the conference is available by calling IGPA at 866-794-3340 or emailing igpa@uillinois.edu.
“Housing is a human right. Everyone, regardless of race, color, sexual orientation and class, should be able to live where they want and where they can afford,” said Clarence N. Wood, president and CEO of Hull House. “Forty years after the Fair Housing Act, housing discrimination remains pervasive. To have academics and activists sit together to analyze the problem and work together to create an agenda for action is critical.”
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About Hull House: Jane Addams Hull House Association improves social conditions for underserved people and communities by providing creative, innovative programs and advocating for related public policy reforms. Hull House Association also advocates for social and public policy reforms and initiatives that impact the lives of the men, women, and children in the communities it serves.
