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Statement by Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey on the Fortieth Anniversary of the Fair Housing Act |
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From PR Newswire: Government and Policy: Forty years ago, this Nation made a commitment to provide for fair access to housing throughout the United States with the enactment of the Fair Housing Act. The original Act, passed only days after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., made it illegal to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, or religion in the sale, rental or financing of housing. On several occasions since that time, we have reaffirmed and expanded our country's dedication to the principle of fair housing, extending the Act's protections to include sex, disability, and familial status and providing for much-needed enforcement tools. The right protected by the Act to live wherever one wants and can afford - is at the heart of the American dream, and for 40 years we have striven to make that dream a reality for all Americans. The Department of Justice has brought hundreds of cases based on discrimination because of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, disability or familial status. We have obtained millions of dollars of compensation for victims of discrimination. And we have convicted dozens of defendants who have threatened families by burning crosses outside their homes. As we mark this anniversary of the Fair Housing Act and celebrate National Fair Housing Month, therefore, we re-dedicate ourselves to combating housing discrimination in all its forms, from home sales to apartment rentals, and from home mortgage loans to property insurance. In the past five years, we have obtained convictions against more than 40 defendants who used burning crosses to intimidate others. We also recently secured convictions against two men who poured mercury onto the front porch and driveway of an interracial couple in an effort to drive them and their young children from their home.
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