Student Project: The Fair Housing Act and Racism: Secondary Sources

"This Essay explains how racial disparities in the maintenance and marketing of REO properties by lenders after foreclosure may result in violations of the federal Fair Housing Act."

"Although commentators debate the exact degree of segregation in the United States today, the consensus is that the United States remains a mostly segregated nation. For example, most White Americans live in neighborhoods composed overwhelmingly of other Whites. Although less dramatically segregated than White neighborhoods, Blacks and Latinos still live in neighborhoods with a significant concentration of persons of the same race."

"This Article argues that in order to have a chance at achieving the goal of its sponsors – 'to replace the ghettos [with] truly integrated and balanced living patterns'– the Fair Housing Act cannot just take aim at the aberrant individual who intentionally denies a person housing because of his or her race. Instead, the Fair Housing Act must recognize claims based on disparate impact analysis alone."

"However, pervasive, subtle discrimination still exists, and most open housing programs have not altered the racial prejudice that contributes to the segregative norm. The result is that integrated housing is often merely a transition from all-white segregation to all-black resegregation."

"In some situations, section 3604(c) may be aggressively interpreted and enforced without raising constitutional concerns. The article proposes that an 'old-fashioned approach' to discriminatory housing statements under section 3604(c) is the only way to achieve the FHA’s ultimate goals of nondiscrimination and truly integrate living patterns."

Robert G. Schwemm, Housing Discrimination Law and Litigation (2015).

John P. Relman, Housing Discrimination Practice Manual (2015).

Call Number: KF5740.A6 F35