HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 04-06-2021; 4-c - Fair Housing Month Proclamation 1
ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: April 6, 2021
Action Agenda
Item No. 4-c
SUBJECT: Fair Housing Month Proclamation
DEPARTMENT: Human Rights and Relations
ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT:
Annette Moore, Human Rights and
Fair Housing Month Proclamation Relations, 919-245-2317
PURPOSE: To proclaim April 2021 as Fair Housing Month in Orange County, North Carolina.
BACKGROUND: The month of April is National Fair Housing Month. April 2021 will mark the
53rd anniversary of the enactment of the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 and the 27t" anniversary
Fair Housing portion of the Orange County Civil Rights Ordinance. These laws grant every person
a right to live where they choose, free from discrimination on the basis of race, color, national
origin, sex, religion, familial status, or disability. The Orange County Civil Rights Ordinance,
established in 1987, adds additional protection from discrimination based on age and veterans
status.
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development has chosen "Fair Housing:
More Than Just Words" as the 2021 Fair Housing Month theme. The chosen theme addresses
the idea that ending discrimination in housing is more than providing equal housing opportunities
for all. Housing can also be a tool to erase economic and education inequalities and help
dismantle systemic racism.
In the 1930s, the federal Government Federal Housing Administration ("FHA") was part of the
New Deal, whose job was to guarantee Americans' loans so they could buy a home in subdivisions
and suburbs across the United States. FHA made homeownership possible for millions of
average Americans by ensuring long-term, low monthly paying mortgages. However, the FHA
required deed restrictions that prevented Blacks from purchasing these homes. This housing
boom was bolstered by the Serviceman's Readjustment Act of 1944 ("G.I. Bill") that provided $95
billion into expanding a range of benefits for returning World War II Veterans. Benefits included
helping 16 million veterans receive low-cost mortgages, low-interest loans to start a business or
a farm, getting one year of unemployment compensation, and receiving education expenses to
attend high school, college, or vocational school. Veterans Administration Mortgages guaranteed
mortgages for nearly five million new homes for veterans. Between 1946 and 1947, VA mortgages
alone accounted for 40% of the homes purchased during that year. Residential ownership
became the critical foundation to economic empowerment in the United States. The G.I. Bill was
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championed as improving returning veterans' economic prospects, promising each soldier the
status of the "unforgotten man."
Ira Katznelson in, When Affirmative Action Was White: The Untold Story of Racial Inequality in
the Twentieth-Century America', contends that the New Deal and Harry Truman's Fair Deal
Programs discriminated and contributed to the widening gap between Black and White
Americans. Katznelson says the G.I. Bill "was deliberately designed to accommodate Jim Crow."
He argues that President Franklin Roosevelt, to gain legislative support for the G.I Bill, made
compromises with Southern legislators that allowed the G.I. Bill to be drafted in a discriminatory
manner. As a result, the G.I Bill, while race-neutral, disproportionately impact black veterans
because the legislation as written allowed the program to be in the hands of state and local officials
who could interpret guidelines in a racially discriminatory manner, thus excluding Black veterans
from receiving benefits.
A study conducted by the Research Division of Veterans Administration in 1950 demonstrated
that between September 1940 and August 1945, returning Black veterans participated almost at
the same levels as their white counterparts in G.I Bill programs. However, they did not benefit in
the same way. White local officials, businessmen, bankers, and college administrators were in
charge of local programs that disenfranchised programs Black veterans. Depending on locality,
Blacks veterans were denied housing and business loans, admission to white-only colleges and
universities, unemployment benefits, and excluded from job training programs and career
opportunities. It didn't take long after the G.I Bill's passage for reports of the obstacles Black
veterans faced in obtaining benefits to come to light, from securing loans to being discharged
without a hearing and given "less than honorable" ratings so Black veterans wouldn't be eligible
for benefits.' The disparate impact was apparent even in the North, where in New York and
Northern New Jersey, less than 100 out of 67,000 G.I. Bill VA Mortgages were provided to Black
veterans.'
Because of these past discriminatory practices, this year, the Department of Human Rights and
Relations highlights the protected class of "Veterans" during Fair Housing Month and throughout
this next year. The County honors all veterans' service and the missed opportunities of those who
served and did not receive the full benefit of what the Country promised them for their service.
This month the Department will host a Webinar with the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission ("EEOC") regarding discrimination issues faced by Veterans in Housing and the
Workplace, "Hot Topics for Veterans: COVID & Beyond."
Wednesday, April 21, 2021 Veterans Housing and Employment 1:00pm -4:00pm
Hot Topics COVID & Be and
Later in this Spring, the Department will co-host a "Veterans Stand Down" with State and Federal
partners, including the EEOC, the Department of Social Services, the N.0 Department of Military
and Veterans Affairs, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to provide additional resources
to Veterans in Orange County. More information about these events can be found at
http://www.orangecountync.gov/departments/human rights and relations/index.php
' Katznelson, Ira (2005). When Affirmative Action Was White:An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-
Century America ([Norton pbk ed.]ed.). New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 9 78-039334 714-2.
2Id at 121.
3 Id at 140.
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FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated with the consideration of the
proclamation.
SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT: The following Orange County Social Justice Goal is applicable to
this item:
• GOAL: FOSTER A COMMUNITY CULTURE THAT REJECTS OPPRESSION AND
INEQUITY
The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race or color;
religious or philosophical beliefs; sex, gender or sexual orientation; national origin or ethnic
background; age; military service; disability; and familial, residential, or economic status.
Fair and equal housing opportunities are not only a legal mandate; it is an Orange County priority
that can bring about a community that is both harmonious and diverse.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT: There is no Orange County Environmental Responsibility Goal
impact associated with this item.
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board approve the proclamation
and authorize the Chair to sign the proclamation.
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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROCLAMATION
FAIR HOUSING MONTH
WHEREAS,April 11, 2021 marks the 53rd anniversary of Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of
1968 (formally known as the Fair Housing Act) and the 38th anniversary of the
North Carolina Fair Housing Act prohibiting discrimination in housing on the basis
of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability and familial status; and
WHEREAS,the Orange County Board of Commissioners enacted the Orange County Civil
Rights Ordinance on June 6, 1994,which affords to the residents of Orange County
the protections guaranteed by the Fair Housing Act and additionally encompasses
the protected classes of Veteran Status and Age; and
WHEREAS,Orange County and the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as
well as concerned residents and the housing industry are working to make fair
housing opportunities possible for everyone by encouraging others to abide by the
letter and the spirit of fair housing laws; and
WHEREAS,the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development annually declares the
month of April as National Fair Housing Month, designating Fair Housing: More
Than Just Words as the national theme and ideal for 2021; and
WHEREAS, despite the protections afforded by the Orange County Civil Rights Ordinance and
the Fair Housing Act, illegal housing discrimination still occurs in our nation and
within our County; and
WHEREAS,by supporting and promoting fair housing and equal opportunity, we are
contributing to the strength of our County, State and Nation.
NOW, THEREFORE, we, the Board of County Commissioners of Orange County North
Carolina, do proclaim April 2021 as FAIR HOUSING MONTH and commend this observance
to all Orange County residents.
This the 6th day of April 2021.
Renee Price, Chair
Orange County Board of Commissioners