| On April 11, 1968 – a mere week after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the federal Fair Housing Act into law. He declared that, “Now, with this bill, the voice of justice speaks again. It proclaims that fair housing for all — all human beings who live in this country — is now a part of the American way of life.”
However, nearly 51 years later, fair housing is simply not a reality for millions across the country, including here in the New York City region. In fact, New York City is the third most segregated city for African Americans and the second most segregated city for Asian Americans and Latinos in the United States. And while often more subtle than before, housing discrimination remains pervasive across the country and our region, and we see the impacts of this in our everyday lives. Housing discrimination and residential segregation contribute to many of the inequalities that divide our nation – such as disparities in educational and economic opportunities, disparate health outcomes, access to safe public spaces and healthy foods, and so much more. For some, the burden of prejudice and hate limits opportunity; meanwhile, others benefit from a system that compounds advantage and eases their path through life. But either way, it directly impacts us all. We have a long way to go to make fair housing a living reality for all. We as a country have never dedicated the adequate resources or seen the political will to effectively enforce this law at the level that is needed to create systemic change. Fair housing organizations like the Fair Housing Justice Center (FHJC) have taken up the task of shining a light on these continuing and systemic issues, and of chipping away at these inequalities to push us toward more open, accessible, and inclusive communities. But we cannot do this work alone.
Indeed, there have always been dedicated groups of civil rights leaders, faith leaders, and justice seekers working to make the case that without fair and equal access to housing, we will never be a truly just and equal society. Religious leaders and communities played a pivotal role in the civil rights movement, including advocating for the Fair Housing Act, because their values, their faith, called them stand for justice and equality. The issue of fair housing speaks to our shared values of welcoming the other, treating one another with mutual respect, recognizing the inherent worth and dignity of every person, and working to create a more just world. These shared values across faith traditions answered Dr. King’s call for us to live up to our highest ideals through action and to build the beloved community where we live.As we face so many injustices and rising inequality, there is no better time for religious communities to reflect on how they can be a part of this fight, and to stand together to turn shared values into shared action. That is why the FHJC, in partnership with Union Theological Seminary and the Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing (IAHH), launched the Building the Beloved Community interfaith initiative last year in honor of the 50th anniversary of the passage of the federal Fair Housing Act. The Building the Beloved Community initiative is aimed at harnessing the power of religious communities and faith-based organizations to advance fair housing in the New York City region. Guided by a diverse group of faith leaders who compose our Interfaith Action Committee, the initiative is focused on educating religious congregations, communities and organizations about fair housing rights and how to exercise them, and on equipping individuals and communities to advocate for fair housing locally, regionally, and nationally. Over the past year, we have reached out to hundreds of congregations in the region; traveled to communities across the state to discuss fair housing issues, developed a comprehensive Fair Housing Toolkit; trained individual leaders to become Fair Housing Leaders in their communities; and united people around their shared values to advocate for fair housing through our Interfaith Action Network. This initiative is truly an interfaith effort to build the beloved community where we live – one that people of any faith tradition or none at all can be a part of. Because all of us are needed to make fair housing a living reality for all people.
We hope you will join us in the vital, ongoing work. 
The Fair Housing Justice Center (FHJC) is a nonprofit, civil rights organization dedicated to eliminating housing discrimination; promoting policies and programs that foster more open, accessible, and inclusive communities; and strengthening enforcement of fair housing laws in the New York City region. Learn more the Fair Housing Justice Center at www.fairhousingjustice.org. ____________________________________ ICNY’s work is dependent upon contributions from you. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation today.
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