On April 11, 1968, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights
Act of 1968, which was meant as a follow-up to the Civil Rights
Act of 1964. The 1968 act expanded on previous acts and prohibited
discrimination concerning the sale, rental, and financing of housing
based on race, religion, national origin, sex, (and as amended)
handicap and family status. Title VIII of the Act is also known
as the Fair Housing Act (of 1968).
The enactment of the federal Fair Housing Act on April 11, 1968
came only after a long and difficult journey. From 1966-1967, Congress
regularly considered the fair housing bill, but failed to garner
a strong enough majority for its passage. However, when the Rev.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, President
Lyndon Johnson utilized this national tragedy to urge for the bill's
speedy Congressional approval. Since the 1966 open housing marches
in Chicago, Dr. King's name had been closely associated with the
fair housing legislation. President Johnson viewed the Act as a
fitting memorial to the man's life work, and wished to have the
Act passed prior to Dr. King's funeral in Atlanta.
Another significant issue during this time period was the growing
casualty list from Vietnam. The deaths in Vietnam fell heaviest
upon young, poor African-American and Hispanic infantrymen. However,
on the home front, these men's families could not purchase or rent
homes in certain residential developments on account of their race
or national origin. Specialized organizations like the NAACP, the
GI Forum and the National Committee Against Discrimination In Housing
lobbied hard for the Senate to pass the Fair Housing Act and remedy
this inequity. Senators Edward Brooke and Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts
argued deeply for the passage of this legislation. In particular,
Senator Brooke, the first African-American ever to be elected to
the Senate by popular vote, spoke personally of his return from
World War II and inability to provide a home of his choice for his
new family because of his race.
With the cities rioting after Dr. King's assassination, and destruction
mounting in every part of the United States, the words of President
Johnson and Congressional leaders rang the Bell of Reason for the
House of Representatives, who subsequently passed the Fair Housing
Act. Without debate, the Senate followed the House in its passage
of the Act, which President Johnson then signed into law.
The power to appoint the first officials administering the Act
fell upon President Johnson's successor, Richard Nixon. President
Nixon tapped then Governor of Michigan, George Romney, for the post
of Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. While serving as
Governor, Secretary Romney had successfully campaigned for ratification
of a state constitutional provision that prohibited discrimination
in housing. President Nixon also appointed Samuel Simmons as the
first Assistant Secretary for Equal Housing Opportunity.
When April 1969 arrived, HUD could not wait to celebrate the Act's
1st Anniversary. Within that inaugural year, HUD completed the Title
VIII Field Operations Handbook, and instituted a formalized complaint
process. In truly festive fashion, HUD hosted a gala event in the
Grand Ballroom of New York's Plaza Hotel. From across the nation,
advocates and politicians shared in this marvelous evening, including
one of the organizations that started it all -- the National Committee
Against Discrimination In Housing.
In subsequent years, the tradition of celebrating Fair Housing
Month grew larger and larger. Governors began to issue proclamations
that designated April as "Fair Housing Month," and schools across
the country sponsored poster and essay contests that focused upon
fair housing issues. Regional winners from these contests often
enjoyed trips to Washington, DC for events with HUD and their Congressional
representatives.
Under former Secretaries James T. Lynn and Carla Hills, with the
cooperation of the National Association of Homebuilders, National
Association of Realtors, and the American Advertising Council these
groups adopted fair housing as their theme and provided "free" billboard
space throughout the nation. These large 20-foot by 14-foot billboards
placed the fair housing message in neighborhoods, industrial centers,
agrarian regions and urban cores. Every region also had its own
celebrations, meetings, dinners, contests and radio-television shows
that featured HUD, state and private fair housing experts and officials.
These celebrations continue the spirit behind the original passage
of the Act, and are remembered fondly by those who were there from
the beginning.