![]() No examples of discrimination exclusively based on color involving land use, municipal ordinances or zoning cases could be found. Several contemporary studies have documented discriminatory treatment of individuals based on the lightness or darkness of their skin both by members of the same racial/ethnic group and by members of different racial/ethnic groups. Ohio 2007).Ĭolor: This distinct protected class category is most often used in conjunction with allegations of racial or national origin discrimination. Residents sued under the FHA and other civil rights laws and a jury returned a verdict of $10.8 million to the residents. Case law provides numerous examples of land use, municipal ordinances and zoning laws that have, intentionally or otherwise, promoted exclusion and segregation on the basis of race.įor example, Coal Run, the only predominantly African American neighborhood in Zanesville and all of Muskingum County in Ohio, did not receive government-provided water despite years of requests, even as water was piped past Coal Run to more distant white neighborhoods. Race: Although civil rights laws prohibiting racial discrimination were initially enacted to protect those of African American descent, the laws’ protections extend to persons of all races who have been harmed by discriminatory actions. Over the years, many housing discrimination lawsuits based on land use laws have been brought by and/or on behalf of protected class members against governmental entities on theories of both intentional and direct discrimination and on the basis of “disparate impact.” New Hampshire’s housing discrimination laws expand protection to three additional groups based on age, marital status or sexual orientation. The federal Fair Housing Act now includes seven protected classes: race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status and disability. Recognition of pervasive discrimination in the daily lives of African Americans in the United States led to the enactment of the Civil Rights Acts of 18 and resulted in the development of the legal notion of “protected class.” Further understanding that other groups of people also suffered unequal access to opportunities has expanded the number of groups protected under state and federal anti-discrimination and civil rights laws. It is available at Key Features of the Fair Housing Act The Guidebook provides an overview of the FHA and summaries of relevant legal actions taken against municipalities throughout the country. This fall, we have published Fair Housing and Regional and Municipal Planning: A Guidebook for New Hampshire Planners. Over the past two years, the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority has been working with New Hampshire Legal Assistance to develop educational materials for local and regional planners in our state to help them understand the implications of the FHA as it relates to their actions. Throughout the United States and even in New Hampshire, too many of our citizens remain in segregated communities with high concentrations of poverty. Today, fifty years after Martin Luther King’s March on Washington, his vision of a fully equal society remains an ideal, not a reality. The overall purpose of the FHA is not only to outlaw discrimination in housing, but also to set out steps that are needed to proactively overcome the legacy of discrimination. The FHA has two major goals: (1) to stop discriminatory practices against protected class members in access to and receipt of housing and housing-related services and (2) to promote integration and suppress segregation in housing. Together, these are known as “protected classes.” ![]() It was amended in 1974 to include gender or sex and again in 1988 to cover familial status and disability. The FHA initially prohibited discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion. It was the final piece of modern civil rights laws begun with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which was promulgated to address and suppress racial discrimination against Americans of African descent. Martin Luther King, Jr., Congress passed the federal Fair Housing Act (“FHA”). Consult NHMA's legal services or your municipal attorney.įorty-five years ago, at the height of the civil rights movement and in the wake of the assassination of Dr. The information contained in this article is not intended as legal advice and may no longer be accurate due to changes in the law. ![]()
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