On April 11th, 1968, after months of gridlock, Congress made history by passing the Fair Housing Act. This monumental piece of legislation prohibited discrimination in the sale, financing and rental of housing based on race, religion, national origin and sex. In 1988, the Act was amended to further prohibit discrimination based on disability or family status. To celebrate this legislation, April is recognized as National Fair Housing Month.
During National Fair Housing Month, Maiker Housing Partners reflects on the history of the Fair Housing Act. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Act’s most ardent champion, believed that access to housing was a fundamental principle of civil rights. In 1966, Dr. King founded the Chicago Open Housing Movement, one of the nation’s first housing movements, based on the belief that housing should be affordable, accessible and of quality for all.
Today, 55 years later, Maiker Housing Partners is driven by this same vision. Though there is still much work to do, Fair Housing Month encourages us to pause and recognize the incredible progress we’ve made. In a speech about fair housing, Dr. King once said, “Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all…” Every day, the Fair Housing Act opens doors of opportunity to Americans across the country. It makes our work at Maiker Housing Partners possible.
This Fair Housing Month, Maiker Housing Partners calls on stakeholders to affirmatively further housing equity by engaging with the history of the movement, celebrating its former and present leaders, and sharing its values with their family, friends and colleagues.
Peter LiFari
Executive Director
Maiker Housing Partners
