Living Together: Ending Racial Discrimination and Segregation in Housing

Abstract

This year marks the fortieth anniversary of three major events with respect to residential racial discrimination and segregation in the United States: the enactment of the “comprehensive” Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, the Supreme Court’s holding that the 1866 Civil Rights Act prohibits racial discrimination in the sale and rental of property even where there is no state action, and the assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Despite the 1968 Fair Housing Act and 1866 Civil Rights Act prohibiting residential racial discrimination and segregation, the United States is still characterized by substantial racial discrimination with respect to the sale, rental, and occupancy of housing and by pervasive racial residential segregation. Recognizing this, the Indiana Law Review devoted its 2008 Symposium Issue to this matter. Leading scholars and practitioners in the field contributed papers and participated in a live discussion on April 3-4, 2008. The participants in this Symposium all agree that the Fair Housing Act has not been fully successful in ending both discrimination and segregation. This raises questions about why the goals of the statute have not been achieved. Our contributors provide a basis for answering these questions, considering the creation of the Fair Housing Act, the inevitable political compromises that marked its enactment, and the consequences of those agreements. From their studies, our participants offer a wide range of suggested improvements in the fight for truly fair and open housing and access to opportunities. These suggestions will not be met without resistance, but each of us must persevere and work diligently to devise new and more effective ways to achieve the goal of truly open and integrated communities.