April 11th marks the 50th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act, the law that recognizes that property rights should not be abridged because of discrimination based on color, national origin, religion, gender, handicap or familial status. Not everyone supported its passage and in fact, NAR once opposed it. Believe it or not, local associations were at one time allowed to exclude members based on race or sex. Obviously, those views have long been changed and we are glad to be joining NAR in the yearlong commemoration of the Fair Housing Act’s 50th anniversary.
View Fair Housing and Property Rights History
The commemoration will focus on three key elements of Fair Housing:
- Acknowledging the organization’s past role in the fight for fair housing;
- Understanding how we as a nation are constantly improving our commitment to fair housing; and
- Embracing REALTORS®’ role at the forefront of advancing fair housing, leading efforts to address community fair housing issues.
We encourage you to participate not only by displaying posters and sharing videos, but also by sharing your Fair Housing story. Stories should either provide historical information about fair housing, highlight a commemoration activity, or describe the positive impacts of fair housing. Selected stories will be showcased online throughout the year.