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Archive for the ‘Civil Rights’ Category

Thank you.

Posted on May 3rd, 2013 by ERC

Rabbi Bruce Kahn presents an award to retiring Board President James G. Macdonell. Both men were founding members of the ERC.

Thank you for making the Equal Rights Center’s 30^th anniversary such a success. Thank you for being a valued partner. Thank you for being an advocate. Thank you for any role that you play in the daunting task of ending discrimination and advancing equality for ALL.

It is difficult to believe that a small local fair housing organization, founded by five inter-faith religious leaders from diverse backgrounds working out of a borrowed office, would become one of the most dynamic, multifaceted national civil rights organizations in the country.

Today, the ERC promotes equal opportunity in housing, employment, and access to public accommodations and government services while being an invaluable resource for many individuals, advocacy groups, government agencies, housing developers, architectural firms, restaurateurs, and other businesses and corporations. Reflecting the growth from the ERC’s founding,, our 30^th anniversary brought together individuals and entities from all facets of the ERC’s current efforts.

The ERC’s success and our work are impossible without our members and our partners. You serve as the eyes and ears of the ERC, letting us know when and where discrimination is happening and being part of the proactive efforts to promote equal opportunity. With your help, the ERC now has 6,000 members in all 50 states, more than 300 civil rights testers, and programs dedicated to making a national impact advancing fair housing, fair employment, disability rights, immigrant rights, and LGBT rights. (more…)

Categorized as Advocacy, Civil Rights, Corporate Partnerships and Training, Disability Rights, Fair Employment, Fair Housing, Government Services, Immigrant Rights, LBGT Rights, Source of Income, Testing
Tags: 30th Anniversary, equal rights center

Corporate Partners Helping Us Celebrate 30 Years of Promoting Progress!

Posted on May 3rd, 2013 by ERC

(from left to right) Afi Edim from JBG Companies, Lina Owata from W.H.H. Trice and Vera McPherson from W.H.H. Trice pose for a quick snapshot. Many of our corporate partners attended our 30th anniversary reception.

The ERC’s 30th anniversary celebration showed exceptional corporate citizens taking an even larger stake in the national movement to end discrimination. Partners from many business sectors – housing developers, architects, restaurateurs, advocates, and government officials, who work daily with the ERC’s Corporate Partnerships & Training (CPT) Program – came together to celebrate and support equal opportunity.

The ERC’s partners include the many members of the Multifamily Housing Resource Program (MHRP), a program designed to promote accessible housing for all, as well as single family housing developers, accessibility consultants, local and national law firms, and many others.

Thank you to all the ERC’s partners and sponsors for honoring the ERC’s three decades of civil rights work, and helping to ensure 30 more years of the ERC promoting equal opportunity! (more…)

Categorized as Advocacy, Civil Rights, Corporate Partnerships and Training
Tags: 30th Anniversary, Corporate Partnerships & Training, equal rights center, MHRP

Report Documents Obstacles for Latinos Seeking Housing in the Commonwealth of Virginia

Posted on April 29th, 2013 by ERC

When he signed the Fair Housing Act, President Johnson said one of the “promises of a century” was “fair housing for all [as] part of the American way of life.” Unfortunately, even 45 years after President Johnson’s pen stroke transformed the Fair Housing Act into law; equal opportunity in the rental housing market continues to elude segments of the American population.

On April 30, the conclusion of Fair Housing Month, the Equal Rights Center (ERC) and the national law firm Drinker, Biddle & Reath, LLP released a civil rights testing-based report revealing that Latinos seeking rental housing across the Commonwealth of Virginia experienced at least one form of adverse treatment as compared to their white counterparts in 55 percent of inquiries. The report, “Precaución: Obstacles for Latinos in the Virginia Rental Housing Market”, is based on a series of 106 tests.

The ERC conducted 106 matched-pair, in-person civil rights tests of rental properties in regions throughout the Commonwealth: the City of Fairfax, the City of Richmond and Henrico County, Loudoun County, Prince William County and Manassas, Roanoke County, Northwest Virginia (covering Augusta, Culpeper, Frederick, and Rockingham Counties), and Virginia Beach. In over half of tests (55 percent), the Latino tester received adverse, differential treatment as compared to the white tester in at least one respect, including: (more…)

Categorized as Advocacy, Civil Rights, Fair Housing
Tags: Commonwealth of Virginia, Drinker Biddle and Reath, equal rights center, fair housing, fair housing act, housing discrimination, immigration, Latino; civil rights testing; reports

What Is Fair Housing?

Posted on April 16th, 2013 by ERC

Fair housing is more than just a mix of complex jargon, laws, polices and regulations. Equal access to housing of one’s choice represents something much greater. Fair housing means being able to send children to good schools. It means access to transportation and employment opportunity. It means being able to take advantage of opportunities in a safe community.

The 12^th Annual D.C. Fair Housing Symposium will move beyond experts talking to experts in an effort to build awareness and encourage action on fair housing issues often ignored or misunderstood. This year, the day-long symposium aims to attract activists and others who work with communities targeted for discrimination but currently do not incorporate fair housing advocacy into their work. The conference will provide attendees with a better understanding of housing discrimination, and how it affects the lives of the people they serve.

Understanding fair housing and how housing discrimination affects individuals is especially important in today’s environment. The District is rapidly changing. Over the past decade, the population has soared past 600,000 for the first time in the city’s history. The racial makeup of the District has changed dramatically, with an influx of white residents where it had been predominantly African American. The cost of living is among the highest in the nation. Real estate developers and businesses have gravitated into historically low-income neighborhoods, impacting the affordability and local culture. Demographics are shifting quickly. (more…)

Categorized as Advocacy, Civil Rights, Fair Housing
Tags: 12th Annual D.C. Fair Housing Symposium, advocacy, department of housing and community development, equal rights center, fair housing, fair housing act, Mt. Vernon, office of human rights, Shaw

Defense of Marriage Act – Unequal and Outdated

Posted on March 22nd, 2013 by ERC

By Scott Hoffman, ERC Communications Intern

Next week, the U.S. Supreme Court is slated to hear Windsor v. United States, a case challenging the constitutionality of section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). If DOMA is struck down, legally married same-sex couples would receive all the federal rights and benefits already granted to heterosexual married couples, including Social Security payments, American residency for foreign spouses and health insurance coverage.

As a gay male living in Maryland, a state that recently legalized marriage equality; I hope that the Court strikes down DOMA, as it may directly influence future choices in my own life.

With its passage in 1996, DOMA established marriage on the federal level as exclusively between one man and one woman. Not only viewed as unfair by many individuals, the law also resulted in discrepancies in states where same-sex marriage is legal. For example, a lesbian couple who is legally married in Massachusetts would be expected to file joint state income tax returns, but would be prohibited from filing their federal returns jointly. In Windsor, the plaintiff was legally married to her wife in New York and recognized by the state as a married couple, but was required to pay federal estate taxes after her wife died, which would not be required of the surviving spouse in an opposite-sex marriage. In Windsor, the Department of Justice stated that the Administration’s position is that DOMA, signed into law by former President Bill Clinton in 1996, is unconstitutional. This position was taken after President Obama instructed the Justice Department to stop defending the constitutionality of DOMA.

Action is also being taken legislatively to address these issues. Recent sessions in Congress have produced a bill – The Respect for Marriage Act – which aims to repeal DOMA. Yet, efforts have stalled due to a lack of support. This failure is extremely puzzling when one considers the evolving attitudes of the American public. A recent Washington Post poll shows that nearly 75 percent of voters believe that marriage equality is a constitutional right. (more…)

Categorized as Advocacy, Civil Rights, LBGT Rights
Tags: DOMA, gay rights, LGBT, marriage equality, Respect for Marriage Act, SCOTUS, US Supreme Court, Windsor v. United States

Corporate Partners in Equal Opportunity

Posted on March 8th, 2013 by ERC

By Victoria Lanteigne, Program Manager, Corporate Partnerships & Training

Twenty years ago, concepts like the triple bottom line, and corporate social responsibility were considered novel, but in today’s global marketplace these concepts are truly becoming standard. Many companies are taking the initiative to incorporate principles of corporate responsibility into their business practices. We at the Equal Rights Center (ERC) are witnessing this trend first-hand among our corporate partners, which include leaders in key industries, such as housing providers, hoteliers, restaurateurs, and retailers.

Through its Corporate Partnerships & Training Program, the ERC has engaged numerous partners, including NVR, Inc. (NVR), AvalonBay (AVB), Gables Residential, Camden Property Trust (CPT), The TJX Companies (TJX), Panera Bread Co. (PNRA), and Prudential PenFed Realty, Greystar Real Estate Partners. Collectively, the ERC’s partners employed more than 200,000 individuals and reported gross revenues of nearly $30 billion last year alone. In collaboration with our partners, the ERC works to demonstrate that focusing on equal opportunity is not only the right thing to do, it’s also smart business. (more…)

Categorized as Civil Rights, Corporate Partnerships and Training, Disability Rights, Fair Housing, Uncategorized
Tags: accessibility, Corporate Partnerships & Training, public accommodations

New HUD Regulations Aims to Bolster ‘Disparate Impact’

Posted on February 19th, 2013 by ERC

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a new rule regarding the implementation the Fair Housing Act’s ‘discriminatory effects’ standard. This rule establishes a uniform standard for examining whether facially neutral housing practices that have discriminatory effects violate the Fair Housing Act.

“This clear guidance from HUD on when the effects of a housing practice, policy or action violate the Fair Housing Act creates a uniform standard that can be understood and followed by the entire housing industry, including housing providers, managers, real estate brokers, lenders, and insurers,” said Don Kahl, Executive Director of the Equal Rights Center. “We hope that this will lead to fewer barriers, whether intentional or unintentional, to equal housing opportunity for all.” (more…)

Categorized as Advocacy, Civil Rights, Government Services
Tags: Department of Housing and Urban Development, disparate impact; regulations, ERC, fair housing, fair housing act, HUD

Play Ball!

Posted on January 28th, 2013 by ERC

School sports are an integral part of many young peoples’ formative years. Sports, both individual and team, help teach social skills, collaboration, teamwork, encourage good physical health and instill discipline. It is important that all students have the opportunity to participate in valuable school athletic programs.

Last week, the Department of Education took steps to ensure that all students, regardless of any physical or mental disability, have the option to compete in school sports alongside their peers. The Education Department calls on schools to make “reasonable modifications” to allow students with disabilities to play on teams already established. If such reasonable modifications cannot be met, the department will direct schools to create parallel athletic programs.

”We applaud the United States Department of Education for recognizing that all students, including students with disabilities can benefit immeasurably from the opportunity to participate in school athletics. This DOE directive is a powerful step in insuring equal opportunity for all in the disability community.”

This new directive from the Department of Education opens up wonderful opportunities for students with disabilities. The lessons learned from participating in school athletic programs are carried throughout the rest of students’ lives, and every student should have the chance to experience personal growth through good sportsmanship.

Categorized as Advocacy, Civil Rights, Disability Rights
Tags: athletics, department of education, disability rights, public schools, sports

How Far We Have Come

Posted on January 21st, 2013 by ERC

“In a sense we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men … would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

These words were spoken by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on a hot August day fifty years ago in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Spoken from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Dr. King stood at the feet of a statue immortalizing the man who ended slavery 100 years prior. Yet he was still unable to enjoy his full rights to freedom in a country that claimed to be founded on equality for all.

In that speech, Dr. King famously envisioned a day in America’s future when all people would “not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” He dreamed of a day when the country would be free from racism and all Americans, through hard work and dedication, could pursue happiness and achieve their dreams.

Fifty years later, Barack Obama will stand in the same spot as Dr. King did when he told the world of his dream, and be sworn in for a second term as president of the United States. In fifty years, this nation has gone from denying a black man the right to sit in restaurant booth, to re-electing a black man to occupy the most powerful seat in the world. The significance of this transformation, in two generations time, cannot be overestimated. We are far from perfect, but we have experienced progress.

The fullness of Dr. King’s dream has not yet been realized. Racism and bigotry still haunt our nation, and people continue to experience discrimination based on the color of their skin. Equality is still a dream.

But as we celebrate Dr. King and swear in President Obama for a second term, we can, for a moment, marvel at the way America has changed. We continue to secure equality for all individuals, but we move forward with a renewed sense of hope that one day we will live to see Dr. King’s dream fully realized.

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Categorized as Advocacy, Civil Rights
Tags: civil rights, equal rights center, inauguration, MLK, President Obama

Stand Up Against Abuse

Posted on January 16th, 2013 by ERC

By Tori Vogel, ERC Civil Rights Intern

Amongst the plethora of proposed legislation pending before Congress this holiday season is the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The act, which provided legal protections and funding for programs to survivors of domes tic violence and sexual assault, passed in 1994 and reduced the number of reported domestic abuse cases by 67%. The Senate has already passed a bi-partisan bill that reauthorizes VAWA, however the bill is stalled in the House of Representatives. Members of both the Democratic and Republican parties are urging leaders in Congress to take action and pass the bill.

As a twenty one-year -old female attending college, I am at high risk of experiencing sexual assault. Despite traditional media tropes, sexual assault is not something that only occurs at college parties involving alcohol or in dark allies by a stranger. Sexual assault is typically committed by someone known to the victim yet still has the potential to be very dangerous. (more…)

Categorized as Advocacy, Civil Rights
Tags: Congress, domestic violence, ERC, sexual assault, VAWA, women's rights

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