FHJC Announces Statewide Day of Action Thursday Oct 10th
FHJC Announces Statewide Day of Action Thursday Oct 10th
Today, the Fair Housing Justice Center (FHJC) announced it was spearheading a coordinated effort to push back against a proposed a rule change by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that would substantially weaken enforcement of the Federal Fair Housing Act.
The change involves “disparate impact,” a legal tool used to challenge facially neutral policies that have a discriminatory impact and yield biased outcomes. Changing the disparate impact rule will allow financial institutions, insurance companies, and housing providers to design and implement discriminatory policies that will widen societal inequalities.
In response to this flagrant assault on civil rights protections, the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) is calling on fair housing groups across the country to sponsor a coordinated Day of Action in each state. NFHA has created a website – www.DefendCivilRights.org – where visitors can learn about the issue and leave an official comment for HUD during the 60-day public comment period. On each state’s designated Day of Action, organizations from that state will engage in events and activities designed to drive as many public comments as possible. For New York, the designated Day of Action will be Thursday October 10th.
For its part, the FHJC staff will be holding a mid-day comment writing party, sharing their lunch break while writing and sending their individual public comments, posting on social media, and encouraging everyone in their networks to join the fight and leave their own comment.
Joining the FHJC in this New York Day of Action will be CNY Fair Housing, Legal Assistance of Western New York, Long Island Housing Services, Housing Opportunities Made Equal, and Westchester Residential Opportunities. Together, the organizations hope through their combined efforts to drive 5,000 public comments to HUD before the comment period ends on October 18th.
In addition to the DefendCivilRights.org website, NFHA has made available a Communications Toolkit with talking points, social media graphics, and other materials for raising awareness and driving comments. The FHJC encourages all of its friends and supporters to join in this effort to fight back against this blatant attack on everyone’s civil rights.