Please join VHFA in celebrating Fair Housing Month this April. This year is special as we mark the 50th anniversary of the passage of the federal Fair Housing Act.
On April 11, 1968, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968, expanding the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VIII of the act, which is commonly known as the Fair Housing Act, prohibited discrimination concerning the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin, sex, (and as amended) handicap and family status. The act was passed after a long difficult political and social struggle for equal protection under the law. Advocates in and out of Congress pushed for adoption of a fair housing bill for years but did not achieve passage until one week after the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Fair housing was one of the central goals for Dr. King and the civil rights movement. Prior to the passage of the Fair Housing Act, many communities around the country had laws that explicitly forbade white homeowners from selling to black buyers in order to keep neighborhoods segregated. Mortgage lenders often denied service or raised rates for buyers in majority minority neighborhoods. Landlords could legally refuse to rent to minorities, which often left minority renters with few decent quality housing options. In response to these injustices, Dr. King helped organize and led open housing marches in Chicago in 1966.
Vermont enacted its own laws prohibiting housing discrimination in 1987. Today, Vermont law protects against discrimination in housing on the basis of all categories listed in the Fair housing Act, as well as age, sexual orientation, gender identity, and receipt of public assistance.
In recognition of this historic anniversary, Governor Phil Scott has issued a proclamation celebrating Vermont’s role as a national leader in expanding housing protections and reaffirming Vermont’s commitment to ensuring that housing is accessible to all.
