April Proclaimed Fair Housing Month

This month marks the anniversary of the passage of the federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, which sought to eliminate discrimination in housing opportunities and to affirmatively further housing choices for all Americans.  Vermont’s Fair Housing Act, enacted in 1987 and expanded in subsequent legislative acts, now prohibits discrimination further than federal statues. It is illegal for anyone to discriminate against or harass anyone in housing because of one’s race, sex, sexual orientation, gender, age, marital status, family status, creed, color, national origin, disability, or because a person is a recipient of public assistance. Last week Governor Peter Shumlin and the Vermont House and Senate proclaimed April as Fair Housing Month to commemorate the 46th anniversary of the passage of the Fair Housing Act and to highlight the unfinished effort to eliminate all housing discrimination in Vermont. Read the Concurrent House Resolution here. Check out below the recent documentary A Matter of Place which connects past struggles for fair housing to contemporary incidents of housing bias based on race, sexual orientation, disability, and source of income:

A MATTER OF PLACE from Fred Freiberg on Vimeo. Learn more: CVOEO’s Fair Housing Project Vermont Human Rights Commission Vermont Law Help Fair Housing Act Background

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