Housing Law: A Wooden Sword
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For all of America’s recent progress in breaking down racial barriers, society still stabs daily at the self-respect of black citizens looking for decent, integrated housing. Yes, there has been a Federal Fair Housing Act since 1968, prohibiting discrimination in housing. Yes, it is full of good intentions. For all of America’s recent progress in breaking down racial barriers, society still stabs daily at the self-respect of black citizens looking for decent, integrated housing. Yes, there has been a Federal Fair Housing Act since 1968, prohibiting discrimination in housing. Yes, it is full of good intentions. But using it is like fighting the devil with a wooden sword. Soon, perhaps even today, the House of Representatives will get the chance to put its heart into the effort and some steel into the law. The law was passed in the wake of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But it has never been as effective as the 1964 Civil Rights Act, banning discrimination in education, employment and other sectors; or the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Under the law, anyone subjected to the shame and anger of housing discrimination can complain to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. But what it can do is limited to ”conference, conciliation or persuasion.” A case goes to court only if the individual pursues it at his own expense, or if the Justice Department finds evidence of a wide ”pattern or practice” of discrimination. By the time such cumbersome and costly procedures are complete, the ”vacancy” sign has long since been taken down. Source : query.nytimes.com |