Report of the National Commission on Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity

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Report of the National Commission on Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity The Future of Fair Housing MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON FAIR HOUSING AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY Co-Chair HENRY CISNEROS, Former Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; and Executive Chairman, CityView Co-Chair JACK KEMP, Former Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Founder and Chairman, Kemp Partners PAT VREDEVOOGD COMBS, 2007 President, National Association of REALTORS® OKIANER CHRISTIAN DARK, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Law, Howard University School of Law I. KING JORDAN, President Emeritus, Gallaudet University MYRON ORFIELD, Professor of Law, University of Minnesota School of Law; Executive Director, Institute on Race and Poverty at the University of Minnesota GORDON QUAN, Former Mayor Pro Tem and Chair of the Housing Committee, City of Houston GUEST COMMISSIONERS TINA BROOKS, Undersecretary for Housing and Community Development, Commonwealth of Massachusetts (Boston) CHARLES MCMILLAN, 2009 President of the National Association of Realtors (Houston) COMMISSION HEARINGS JULY 15, 2008 SEPTEMBER 22, 2008 Chicago, Illinois, Access Living Boston, Massachusetts, Suffolk Law School JULY 31, 2008 OCTOBER 17, 2008 Houston, Texas, National Bar Association Atlanta, Georgia, Morehouse College Annual Conference SEPTEMBER 9, 2008 Los Angeles, California, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund The National Commission on Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 INTRODUCTION:THE GOAL OF INCLUSIVE,DIVERSE,COMMUNITIES 5 I. FORTY YEARS AFTER THE PASSAGE OF THE FAIR HOUSING ACT,HOUSING DISCRIMINATION AND SEGREGATION CONTINUE 13 II. FAIR HOUSING ENFORCEMENT AT HUD IS FAILING 22 III. FAIR HOUSING ENFORCEMENT AT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE IS WEAK 26 IV. THE NEED FOR A STRONG FAIR HOUSING INITIATIVES PROGRAM 31 V. F AIR HOUSING AND THE FORECLOSURE CRISIS 37 VI. FEDERAL HOUSING PROGRAMS:THE MANDATE TO “AFFIRMATIVELY FURTHER FAIR HOUSING” 44 VII. FAIR HOUSING OBLIGATIONS OF FEDERAL GRANTEES 47 VIII. REGIONALISM AND FAIR HOUSING ENFORCEMENT 51 IX. THE PRESIDENT’S FAIR HOUSING COUNCIL 53 X. FAIR HOUSING EDUCATION: A MISSING PIECE 56 XI. THE NECESSITY OF FAIR HOUSING RESEARCH 59 XII. CONCLUSION 60 APPENDIX A: EMERGING FAIR HOUSING LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY ISSUES 65 APPENDIX B: INTERNATIONAL DISAPPROVAL OF U.S. FAIR HOUSING POLICY 66 APPENDIX C: COMMISSIONER CORRESPONDENCE ON FORECLOSURE RELIEF IMPLEMENTATION 72 APPENDIX D: COMMISSION WITNESSES AND STAFF The Future of Fair Housing ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The National Commission on Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity was a collaborative effort of many organizations and individuals over the past year. First, we thank the foundations, organizations, and individuals that supported the work of the Commission: Allstate; Fannie Mae; The Ford Foundation; Freddie Mac; Bernie Kleina, HOPE Fair Housing (IL); Michael W. Tyler, Kilpatrick, Stockton. LLP; Justin Massa, MoveSmart.org; the National Association of Realtors; Stew Harris, New Media Mill; New Bridge Videography; Rosenberg Foundation; Larry Silfen, Tsq Reporting; Southern Poverty Law Center, and Wachovia. For logistical, research, and funding support at our regional hearings, we are grateful for the generous pro ERQRDVVLVWDQFHRIWKHODZÀUPVRI:LQVWRQDQG6WUDZQLQ&KLFDJR:HLO*RWVKDODQG0DQJHVLQ+RXVWRQ Mitchell, Silberberg and Knupp in Los Angeles; Dechert LLP in Boston; and DLA Piper and Sutherland at the ÀQDOKHDULQJLQ$WODQWD7KHVHÀUPVDOVRKHOSHGXVSUHSDUHWKHHVVHQWLDOEULHÀQJERRNVDWHDFKKHDULQJ that gave regional context to the Commission’s deliberations. :HDUHDOVRJUDWHIXOIRUWKHVXSSRUWRIWKHODZÀUPRI)ULHG)UDQN+DUULV6KULYHU -DFREVRQ//3LQ New York, including attorneys Michael de Leeuw and Megan Whyte, who have assisted us throughout the &RPPLVVLRQSURFHVVDQGKDYHDOVRSURYLGHGVLJQLÀFDQWVXSSRUWIRUWKHÀQDOUHSRUW We also had wonderful volunteer assistance at the hearings from Jim McCarthy and David Lauri of the Miami Valley Fair Housing Center who provided live streaming video of the hearings, and Justin Massa who blogged the Chicago hearing, giving us access to a wider audience. :HDSSUHFLDWHGWKHJHQHURVLW\DQGKRVSLWDOLW\RIRXUKRVWVLQHDFKFLW\ZHYLVLWHGWKHRIÀFHVDQG conference center of Access Living in Chicago; the National Bar Association conference in Houston; the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund in Los Angeles; Suffolk Law School in Boston; and Morehouse College in Atlanta. Of course, thanks to our hard working consultants: Julie Fernandes and Kara Forsyth at the Raben Group, who spearheaded the effort on our behalf; Natalie Shear and Associates, who handled all of our hearing ORJLVWLFVDQG6DUD3UDWWDQG3KLOLS7HJHOHU ZLWKWKH3RYHUW\ 5DFH5HVHDUFK$FWLRQ&RXQFLO ZKRDVVLVWHG LQLGHQWLI\LQJDQGSUHSDULQJZLWQHVVHVDQGGUDIWLQJWKHÀQDOUHSRUWZLWKWKH&RPPLVVLRQPHPEHUV7KH authors would also like to acknowledge the research assistance of Jason Small, Westra Miller, Sara Hinchliff Pearson, David Bernstein, Daniel Kotler, Randall Hirsch, Tom Silverstein and Sarah Graham. The National Commission on Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity And thanks, especially, to our hard working Commissioners, who took on this challenge on a volunteer basis to help us forge a new consensus on the future of fair housing. We are all grateful for the time, creativity, insight, and dedication that each of the Commissioners brought to this important work. Finally, we want to express our gratitude to the staff of our organizations for their many contributions to all aspects of this project. Wade Henderson, President, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Karen McGill Lawson, President, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund Barbara Arnwine, Executive Director, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law John Payton, President and Director-Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Shanna Smith, Executive Director, National Fair Housing Alliance The Future of Fair Housing Executive Summary “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. That “inescapable network of mutuality” described by Martin Luther King, Jr. begins in our communities. Where we live shapes our lives, our interactions with others, our work life, our health, and our education. Each of us has a role to play in creating communities that are welcoming, safe, and open to all. Today, this goal is more important than ever because the nation is becoming increasingly diverse. Currently, African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans and Native Americans make up more than 30 percent of our population. In a few decades, those groups are projected to represent a majority of U.S. residents. These groups represent our future workers, the people whose skills and talents must be harnessed to ensure the nation’s economic viability. Forty years ago, Congress passed Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (the “Fair Housing Act”), which prohibits discrimination in public and private housing markets that is based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, or familial status. The Act requires communities and the federal government to proactively further fair housing, residential integration, and equal opportunity goals; however, equal opportunity in housing remains a major challenge, with collateral impact far beyond four walls and a roof. That is why the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund, the National Fair Housing Alliance, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law came together to form the National Commission on Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity to investigate the state of fair housing in this 40th anniversary year. Our seven-member commission was co-chaired by two former U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 6HFUHWDULHVWKH+RQRUDEOH-DFN.HPSD5HSXEOLFDQDQGWKH+RQRUDEOH+HQU\&LVQHURVD'HPRFUDWFRQÀUPLQJ WKDWIDLUKRXVLQJLVQRWDSDUWLVDQLVVXH2YHUWKHSDVWVL[PRQWKVZHKHOGKHDULQJVLQÀYHPDMRU86FLWLHV – Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Boston, and Atlanta – to assess our progress in achieving fair housing for all. The hearings exposed the fact that despite strong legislation, past and ongoing discriminatory practices in the nation’s housing and lending markets continue to produce levels of residential segregation that result in VLJQLÀFDQWGLVSDULWLHVEHWZHHQPLQRULW\DQGQRQPLQRULW\KRXVHKROGVLQDFFHVVWRJRRGMREVTXDOLW\HGXFDWLRQ homeownership attainment and asset accumulation. This fact has led many to question whether the federal government is doing all it can to combat housing discrimination. Worse, some fear that rather than combating segregation, HUD and other federal agencies are promoting it through the administration of their housing, lending, and tax programs. The National Commission on Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity We heard testimony from hundreds of witnesses that within our communities, fair housing advocates, there are still far too many segregated neighborhoods committed members of the housing industry and where skin color determines school quality and economic government action has ensured that housing opportunity; and where municipal services track race opportunities are fairer than they were four decades and income, rather than need. ago. Most states and many localities have fair housing laws, some of which provide greater protection than The hearings showed us that discrimination continues to the federal Fair Housing Act. The ethical codes of most
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