9
conceptions that most Hispanics are farm w o rkers or
that they have large fam ilies which w ill destroy their
properties. Another is that the landlord may feel since
all Hispanics are farmworkers that housing should be a
service provided by the growers. So. we always run into
that problem although the Hispanic population covers
the population employment that is found in all segments
o f this com m unity,”
Paper lion* or false teeth
Johnnie Bell is director o f the State C ivil Rights D ivi
sion. " I f a person feels he has been d is c rim in a te d
against because o f race, color or sex. m arital status or
personal handicap, they can file a com plaint through
our Civil Rights Division. Oftentimes people are evicted
and if they feel their eviction is becuase o f those reasons
stated earlier they do have a right to file a c om plain t.”
Ms. Bell said her o ffice has no jurisdictio n over land
lords who refuse small children or pets.
" T h e m a jo rity o f com plaints are not w ith a realtor
but a private individual selling their h om e." This indivi
dual may have some problem s w ith a protected class
member moving into the neighborhood. He may steer a
protected class member away from buying a home in a
certain area. This is a form o f discrim ination. I f a per
son feels he has been discriminated against, he can call
our o ffic e and talk w ith an intake o ffic er (289-5900).
A fte r we get the inform ation we notify the respondent
and find out if they are w illing to settle the com plaint
before it goes into litigation. I f they are not willing to
settle we assign the case over for investigation. This can
be a lengthy process. O ur average investigation time is
eight months. W e keep trying to settle the case. I f again
nothing is worked out we assing the case over to the Jus
tice D epa rtm e n t." Ms. Bell says housing discrimination
cases are very hard to prove because there must be a w it
ness. " Y o u must prove discrimination beyond a reason
able d oubt.”
The bottom line is to attend the Oregon Fair Housing
Conference, Friday. April 22, from 8:30 a.m-5:3O p.m at
Red L io n , Jantzen Beach, they all agree. " I f you feel
discriminated against, that is enough. W e will be glad to
help you place y o u r c o m p la in t. W e w ill review your
complaint This will ensure your right to housing is pro
tected.”
Oregon to hold first state
conference on fair housing
Housing discrimination has not gone away
Despite legislation, regulations, and court verdicts,
housing discrim ination is alive and well in manv places
in Portland. Where it lives, you may not be alio vied in.
C ras s ro o t New s, N . I F — F ro m o ul o f the narrow
minds o f the 1950s, the mass hysteria o f the M cC arthy
era to the present strength o f the white backlash and the
new right, housing discrimination is making a comeback
and the statistics prove that it never went away.
Louis Osborne, Director for Fair Housing and Equal
O pportunity for the U .S Departm ent o f Housing and
U rb a n D evelop m ent, says the biggest hurdle to o ve r
come is accepting the fact that housing discrimination
still exists in the 1980s " T h e re is still the problem in
achieving equal o p p o rtu n ity and fa ir housing fo r all
Americans W e have a problem with subtle forms of dis
crim ination and there is a problem with m inority A m er
icans knowing what their rights are. W e have made e f
forts to involve the housing industry by instituting a vol
u n ta ry p ro g ram w here we c ou ld try to m itig a te the
forms o f discrimination that are out there in the m arket
place. W e feel we have met w ith some success w ith the
N a tio n al Association o f Realtors. How ever, the prob
lem we are facing is in the rental areas so we are trying
to highlight to the com m unity that there are ways and
methods which can be utilized to obtain relief if they
feel they have been discriminated against "
T o bring this point home H U D , along w ith several
o th e r o rg a n iz a tio n s , is sponsoring an O re g o n F a ir
Housing Conference, F riday. A p ril 22, fro m 8:30-5:30
at the Red Lion, Jantzen Beach
' "H ousing discrimination is against the state and fed
eral la w ,” Osborne continues. " W e want to inform the
community o f their rights and the remedies involved in a
housing discrimination case. The conference is designed
to discuss the state and federal fair housing laws, what
those laws mean and how to utilize the law. W e will go
through the complaint process, so an individual who has
been discriminated against will know how to proceed."
W hy does a realtor or homeowner who is selling his
home discriminate against another human being? “ The
answer to that question is not all cut and dried, nor is
the answer black or white. This country is made up o f a
multitude o f ethnic and cultural grups. They came over
to America in large numbers and were assigned areas in
which to live. There was a closeness in cultural a c tiv i
ties. This has permeated throughout our society. W ith
m inorities, you did not have that cultural identity be
cause slavery too k that aw ay. T h e re is a reluctance
among many o f the m ajority cultural groups to accept
other ethnic minorities into their communities because
they still have those close c u ltu ra l ties. Y o u used to
think thai it was economic in nature but this is no longer
thought to be true.”
The example that Osborne gives is one fro m his own
personal experience. " I had a home built in Southeast
and my fa m ily and I stayed w ith my fath er u n til my
home was finished. Throughout this time 1 assumed 1
w ou ld have no p ro blem getting p erm anent finances
since both my wife and 1 were working. Also I had quite
a bit o f money to put into the transaction on my own.
One day I called up a mortgage banker and Tilled out the
loan app lication over the phone. Everything was fine.
The banker told me to come down and sign the papers:
that it would not be a problem. W ell, when I got down
there I found out that there was a problem and it was
the color o f my skin. It's d ifficu lt to understand; over
the phone it was ail right But the minute I walked into
the bank their mortgage procedures changed. It is d iffi
cult to prove but I felt it was discrim inatory.”
W hat M r. Osborne experienced is just one of the ways
the housing institution discriminates. "A n o th e r tactic
is the 'run -arou nd .' This means making it impossible to
fill out form s, saying the unit is rented when it is not,
and giving people the impression that they will check up
on you. Sometims people do not wish their privacy to be
disturbed, although the landlord has the right to adm in
ister credit checks. But it is the general paper passing
that gives the landlord more time to find someone else
to occupy the home. W ith someone else they can come
into the unit and rent it out w ith no problems but with
the m in o rity person the p ap e rw o rk is a lot m ore de
tailed.”
Bad la good and good Is bad
A n interesting phenomenon has emerged out o f the
housing institutions o f the 1980s. There appears to be an
inverse relationship between poor housing starts and a
decline in housing discrimination complaints.
This means when times are good the housing industry
will discriminate when it wants to. But with the industry
suffering economically they do not have the economic
flex ib ility to discrim inate. M a rie P a rra , an Equal O p
p ortunity specialist fo r H U D , explains: "These times
provide an excellent o p p o rtu n ity fo r those w ho have
been u n c o m fo rta b le ren tin g to m in o ritie s to rent to
them now . I f someone wants to buy o r rent they are
anxious to rent or sell. T he bad time fo r equal o p p o r
tunity is when times are good. It is unfortunate that it £
works itself out like that but that is how things are.”
M s. P a rra says the d iscrim ination encountered by
Hispanics is basically the same but for different reasons.
“ In Oregon there are a lot o f Hispanics in the m etropol
itan areas but there are also a lot in the rural areas. A lot
o f the discrimination is triggered by the landlords' mis
A p ril, national fair-housing m onth, draws delegates
to O regon's first statewide conference on that subject
A p ril 22.
Scheduled fro m 8:30 a .m .-5:30 p.m . at the Jantzen
Beach Red Lion Inn, the conference is co-sponsored by
the P o rtla n d C o m m u n ity H o u s in g Resource B o ard
(P C H R B ), Oregon Departm ent o f Housing and Urban
Development, Oregon Association o f Realtors, Oregon
C ivil Rights Division and Portland Public Schools.
Keynote speakers are O regon Labor Comm issioner
M ary W endy Roberts and H .J . Belton H a m ilto n , ad
ministrative law judge for the Social Security Adm inis
tration.
Douglas Felderm an, P C H R B program coordinator,
said the conference goals are to foster greater und er
standing o f and p articip atio n in voluntary a ffirm a tiv e
action in housing.
"W h ile state and federal laws prohibit discrimination
in housing on the basis o f race, color, national origin,
sex. m arital status and physical or mental handicap, we
are hopeful that the conference w ill not only reinforce
compliance with the letter o f the law but also further the
spirit o f the fair-housing law ,” Felderman said.
F air housing includes equal access to accurate and
truthful inform ation about all available housing and the
equal opportunity to examine, finance, rent or buy any
available housing, he said.
Felderman said the conference w ill recognize current
and encourage greater participation in the Oregon Asso
ciation o f Realtors' voluntary affirm ative marketing e f
forts in housing.
" I t is our belief that the real estate industry, working
in voluntary cooperation with government and citizens
groups, is the most effective way to achieve fair housing
for a ll," Felderman said.
Felderm an said the conference sponsors especially
were pleased to have Roberts and H am ilton as keynote
speakers.
"Judge H am ilton was instrumental in drafting O re
gon's fair-housing laws and Commissioner Roberts is
responsible for ensuring that those laws are abided by.
both speakers bring a history and understanding o f the
issue that would be hard to match,” Felderman said.
In addition the conference w ill feature panel discus
sions and workshops conducted by experts from govern
ment, industry and non-profit organizations.
A n aw ards cerem ony also w ill be held d u rin g the
noon luncheon fo r the 1983-84 F air H o using Poster
Contest for middle schools sponsored by P C H R B and
Portland Public Schools.
Live where you want to live
A pril is Fair Housing M onth. The
follow in g is an explanation o f the
two major Federal laws dealing with
d is c rim in a tio n in housing in the
United States.
Racial discrim ination ia illegal in
all I I . S. housing
The Civil Rights Act o f 1866 pro
vides that: “ A ll citizens o f the U n it
ed States shall have the same right,
in every State and T e rrito ry , as is
enjoyed by white citizens thero f to
inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold,
and convey real and personal prop
erty.”
In the case o f Jones v. Mayer, de
cided on June 17, 1968, the U .S .
Supreme C o urt held that the 1866
law prohibits " a ll racial discrimina
tion. private as well as public, in the
sale or rental o f property.” '
1968 Fair Housing Law. as
am sndad. by ths Housing and
Com m unity Davalopm ant A ct of
1974
In T itle V I I I o f the C iv il Rights
Act o f 1968 (the Fair Housing Law ),
Congress declared a national policy
o f providing fair housing through
out the U n ite d States. T h is law
makes discrimination based on race,
color, religion, sex. or national o ri
gin illegal in connection w ith the
sale or rental o f most housing and
any vacant land offered for residen
tial construction or use.
Acts prohibited by the Fair
Housing Law
The F air Housing Law provides
p ro te c tio n against the fo llo w in g
acts, if they are based on race, col
or, religion, sex, or national origin:
Refusing to sell or rent to, deal or
negotiate with any person; discrim
inating in terms or conditions for
buying or renting housing; discrim
inating by advertising that housing
is available only to persons o f a cer
tain race, color, religion, sex. or na
tional origin; denying that housing
is available fo r inspection, sale or
rent when it re a lly is a v a ila b le ;
" b lo c k b u s tin g " — fo r p r o fit, p e r
suading owners to sell or rent hous
ing by tellin g them th a t m in o rity
groups are moving into the neigh
borhood; denying or making d iffe r
ent term s or c o n d itio n s fo r home
loans by com m ercial lenders, such
as banks, savings and loan associa
tions and insurance com panies;
denying to anyone the use o f or par
ticipation in any real estate services,
such as brokers' organizations, m ul
tiple listing services or other fac ili
ties related to the selling or renting
o f housing.
Housing covsrsd by ths 1988 Fair
Housing Law
Prohibitions contained in the Fair
Housing Law apply to the following
types o f housing:
Single-Fam ily housing owned by
private individuals when: a broker
or other person in the business o f
selling or renting dwellings is used
a n d /o r; discrim inatory advertising
is used;
Single-Fam ily houses not owned
by private individuals;
Single-Family houses ow ned by a
private ind ividu al who owns more
than three such houses or w ho. in
any two-year period, sells more than
one in which the individual was not
the most recent resident;
M u ltifa m ily dwellings o f five or
more units;
M u ltifa m ily dwellings containing
fo u r or few er u n its , i f the ow ner
does not reside in one o f the units.
A ct not prohibitad by ths 1988
Fair Housing Law
The fo llo w in g acts are not cov
ered by the Fair Housing Law. It is
im p o rtan t to rem em ber, however,
that these acts are covered by the
1966 C iv il Rights A ct when discrim
ination based on race occurs in con
nection with such octs
The sale or rental or single-family
houses owned by a private individu
al o f three o r few er such single
fa m ily houses if: a b ro ke r is not
used; discrim inatory advertising is
not used, a n d . no m ore than one
house in which the owner was not
the most recent resident is sold d u r
ing any two-year period
Rentals o f room s o r units in
owner-occupied m ulndwellings for
tw o to fou r fam ilies, i f d iscrim in
atory advertising is not used.
Lim iting the sale, rental, or occu
pancy o f dwellings which a religious
org an izatio n owns or operates for
other than a commercial purpose to
persons o f the same re lig io n , i f
mem bership in that religion is not
restricted on account o f race, color
or national origin.
L im iting to its own members the
re n ta l o r occupancy o f lodgings
which a private club owns or o per
ates fo r o th er than a c o m m ercial
purpose
H o w ths Fair Housing Law la
snforcad
D is c rim in a to ry acts covered by
the Fair Housing Law can be report
ed to: Fair Housing, c /o the nearest
H U D Regional O ffice
T h e c o m p la in an t m ay state a
com plaint in a letter or use a com
p la in t fo rm . T he c o m p la in t fo rm
may be obtained fro m the nearest
H U D O ffice. Complaints should be
notarized, if possible, and must be
sent to H U D within 190 days o f the
alleged discriminatory act.
I f the d is c rim in a to ry act is
covered by the la w , H U D w ill
investigate the c o m p la in t. I f the
Secretary decides to resolve the
c o m p la in t. H U D may attem p t in
form al. confidential conciliation to
end the d is c rim in a to ry housing
practice; o r, in fo rm the co m p lain
ant o f his or her right to seek imme
d ia te court actio n . In a p p ro p ria te
cases. H U D may refer the complaint
to the Attorney General.
The complaint may be referred by
H U D to a Slate or local agency that
adm inisters a law w ith rights and
rem edies w hich are s u b s ta n tia lly
equ ivalen t to those o f the Federal
law I f the Stale or local agency does '
not commence proceedings w ith in
30 days and ca rry them fo rw a rd
with reasonable promptness. H U D
may require the case to be returned
In any case, the complainant «rill be
notified o f the type o f action to be
taken.
U p o n receipt o f a c o m p la in t,
H U D will furnish a copy to the per
son charged with the discriminatory
act. T he person charged may then
file an answer in w ritin g , w hich
should also be notarized.
Court action by an individual
A person may take a com plain t
directly to the U .S . District Court or
State or local court under Section
812, w ithin 180 days o f the alleged
discriminatory act, whether or not a
complaint has been filed with H U D .
In a p p ro p ria te cases, an atto rn ey
may be appointed for the complain
ant and the payment o f fees, costs,
or security can be waived.
I f H U D o r the State or local
agency is unable to obtain voluntary
com pliance, the com plainant may
file suit in the appropriate U .S . Dis
trict Court.
The court can grant permanent or
tem porary injunctions, tem porary
restraining orders or other a p p ro
p ria te re lie f. It may aw ard actual
damages and not more than S I.000
in punitive damages The courts are
also directed to expedite cases under
Section 812 and assign them fo r
hearing at the earliest practical date.
C o u rt a c tio n by ths attom ay
ganaral
In fo rm a tio n about possible dis
crim ination in housing may also be
brought to the attention o f the A t
torney General. I f the resulting in
vestigation indicates that there is a
pattern or practice o f resistance to
fu ll enjo ym en t o f rights g ranted
under T itle V I I I , or that a group o f
persons has been denied such rights
and the denial raises an issue of gen
eral public im portance, the A t to r
ney General may bring court action
to ensure fu ll e n jo y m e n t o f the
rights granted by Title V I I .
How tha 1888 Civil Rights Law is
snforcad
T he 1866 C iv il Rights Law p ro
vides a quick, direct method o f ob
taining a remedy against racial dis
c rim in a tio n in housing: the c o m
plainant may take the case directly
to a Federal court.
The court could stop the sale or
re n ta l o f the desired housing to
someone else. It could make it pos
sible for the com plainant to buy or
rent the desired housing. It could
aw ard damages and court costs or
la k e other a p p ro p ria te a c tio n o f
benefit to the complainant