LOS ANGELES, CA – Every April, the Housing Rights Center (HRC) joins fair housing advocates across the nation in celebrating Fair Housing Month and the anniversary of the passage of the federal Fair Housing Act.

Days after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson and a divided Congress made it illegal to discriminate in the sale, rental, financing, and advertising of housing on the basis of race, religion, or ethnicity. This great piece of civil rights legislation passed quickly—partly to honor Dr. King’s dream, but also to extinguish the flames of outrage and despair illuminating our major cities over his murder and the ongoing struggle of Black Americans to survive as poverty and racism surged.

At this year’s summit, held on April 8, 2024, HRC explored the theme “The Power of Civil Rights Advocacy: From Theory to Impact” by hearing from civil rights experts who have successfully brought litigation, policy work and grassroots advocacy to challenge a discriminatory practice and bring about unique solutions to remedy past harm. Lisa Rice, President and CEO of NFHA, spoke on emerging fair housing trends and the impact of AI on housing rental and sales industries. HRC presented Dr. Gay Yuen with the 2024 Fair Housing Justice Award in recognition of her work to combat racism against Chinese Americans in Southern California. The Summit’s legislative panel provided an update on recent tenant protection laws and shared information, tools, and resources on eviction protections. Finally, a distinguished housing attorney panel highlighted the legal victories and challenges to protecting tenants with Section 8 vouchers from discrimination that prevents them from securing the housing they may have waited years to obtain. We are grateful to have experts and leaders in all these fields join us to put a spotlight on fair housing, and to share their wisdom and insight on paths towards equity and reparation. The conference was attended by more than 220 housing advocates, community partners, service providers, and public interest lawyers.

Read more about the 2024 Housing Rights Summit here.

If you believe you have experienced discrimination in housing contact the Housing Rights Center for free counseling at 1 (800) 477-5977 (TTY: 1 (213) 201-0867). To request a Housing Rights Workshop for your organization, please email outreach@housingrightscenter.org. For more resources, visit HRC’s website at www.housingrightscenter.org/get-help.

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The Housing Rights Center (HRC) is a non-profit organization established in 1968 to actively support and promote equal opportunity and freedom of residence to all persons without regard to their race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, familial status, disability, marital status, ancestry, age, source of income, or other characteristics protected by law. The Center engages in activities – including outreach/education, investigation/testing and legal advocacy – to identify barriers to fair housing in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties and to help counteract and eliminate discriminatory housing practices.