April is Fair Housing Month

April is National Fair Housing Month. This year marks the 55th anniversary of the passage of the Fair Housing Act by Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968. This Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, nationality, religion, sex (including gender identity), sexual orientation, disability, and familial status. 

The National Board of Realtors has compiled resources from podcasts, to videos, to articles, all of which provide an entertaining base for understanding your rights and the history of this movement. 

Starting off with their recommended Fair Housing Film & Video Resources, the National Board of Realtors has many resources to learn about the history of housing discrimination, segregation, and the folks leading the way in correcting these wrongs. These sources span a variety of different formats, from a clip of John Oliver discussing housing discrimination in the US, to a film in which Norman Lear explores the housing divide and wealth gap between empty luxury apartment buildings and the folks finding shelter on the streets of New York City.

Podcasts can be a great way to learn new things in entertaining ways while on the go. The National Association of Realtors has sourced Fair Housing Podcasts to enrich your understanding of the vast inequity within Fair Housing and ways in which we can overcome it. This American Life unravels the ways in which your destiny can be determined by your address and NPR uncovers the inspiration behind the Oscar-winning film "Summer of Soul."

If you prefer to get your information in writing, the NAR has also compiled Fair Housing Journalism Recommendations. These serve not only as historical retrospectives, such as a piece exploring the loss of Black wealth due to the subprime scandal, but also to show us how to grow and affect the communities we live in, like in the article detailing the imperative of closing the racial homeownership gap as a long term COVID response. 

Essentially, these works show us the hard work that has been done up to this point, and the hard work it will take us to continue the progress. It is crucial for tenants and homeowners to understand their rights, to empower one another, and to ensure we all receive fair treatment. 

Ensure you know how and who to contact in case of an issue. 
Fine a Fair Housing Complaint with HUD
File a Complaint with the Maine Human Rights Commission
Call the HUD Hotline: (800) 699-9777