Lawyers' Committee's Barbara Arnwine to Testify Before House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties On "Protecting the American Dream: A Look at the Fair Housing Act"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 10, 2010
CONTACT:
Stacie B. Royster
202-662-8317, office
202-445-6101, mobile
sroyster@lawyerscommittee.org
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 10, 2010 - On Thursday, March 11 at 1:30 p.m., Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Executive Director Barbara Arnwine will testify regarding the importance of the Fair Housing Act, which, as amended in 1988, prohibits discrimination in public and private housing markets that is based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability or familial status. She will address important fair housing issues and continued challenges of equal opportunities in housing and the achievement of desegregated neighborhoods across the country - particularly their far-reaching impact on minority communities in all facets of their lives.
"Key components of the Act require communities receiving federal housing assistance and the federal government to proactively further fair housing, residential integration and equal opportunity goals," said Ms. Arnwine. "We applaud the Subcommittee's actions in examining the effectiveness and enforcement of the Fair Housing Act. It is increasingly clear that fair housing is the linchpin to ‘protecting the American dream,' not only by providing non-discriminatory housing opportunities and requiring affirmative steps to further fair housing that will break the continued grip of residential segregation, but also by providing equal opportunity to minorities in so many crucial facets of life, especially education, access to employment opportunities and adequate health care. Strong fair housing and fair lending laws with vigorous enforcement of such laws are central to this endeavor."
Ms. Arnwine will also discuss the Lawyers' Committee's top fair housing priority - the foreclosure crisis, which at its roots, is a civil rights issue, as discussed in "The Future of Fair Housing" report, released in December 2008 upon the completion of the National Commission on Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity co-convened by the Lawyers' Committee.
In the midst of the current economic turmoil and foreclosure crisis, a "second wave" of the foreclosure crisis has emerged and the Lawyers' Committee has responded by creating a coordinated national campaign, the Loan Modification Scam Prevention Network, to support existing efforts at national, state and local levels to fight the scourge of scammers targeting millions of distressed homeowners. See www.preventloanscams.org
About the Lawyers' Committee
The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (LCCRUL), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. The principal mission of the Lawyers' Committee is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice under law, particularly in the areas of fair housing and fair lending, community development, employment discrimination, voting, education and environmental justice. For more information about the LCCRUL, visit www.lawyerscommittee.org.
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