The Florida Civil Rights Association is cosponsoring the 2013 Regional Fair Housing Summit, with the theme of “One Community, Growing Together: Regional Approaches to Creating Inclusive Communities.” The featured speaker will be James H. Carr, senior fellow with the Center for American Progress and Distinguished Scholar with The Opportunity Agenda.
The summit will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 30 at the Florida Hotel and Conference Center, 1500 Sand Lake Road, Orlando.
US Congressman Alan Grayson (FL-09) will speak on the Fair Housing Act and present Certificates of Special Congressional Recognition to several fair housing advocates during the Summit’s luncheon.
Equal access to housing is a basic necessity and a civil right, and the Fair Housing Act guarantees that all individuals can access that right free from discrimination, said J. Willie David, III, President of the Florida Civil Rights Association. Recently, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Deployment (HUD) agreed to investigate Bank of America after the Florida Civil Rights Association filed a complaint with the federal agency for disability discrimination in its lending practices by seeking medical records from loan applicants to verify recipients of disability income. The federal investigation of an Orlando homeowner’s complaint spotlight a lending practice in the banking industry that violates the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, said David. HUD’s investigation by the regional office in Atlanta, Georgia is still pending.
April is National Fair Housing Month and the Annual Regional Fair Housing Summit is just one way the Florida Civil Rights Association is celebrating the 45th anniversary of the passage of the Fair Housing Act.
The event is sponsored by the Florida Civil Rights Association, Orange County, Osceola County, Lake County, City of Orlando Community Affairs & Human Relations Office, Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida, Consumer Debt Counselors, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Florida Commission on Human Relations, Fair Housing Continuum and HOPE Fair Housing Center.
For more information on the Summit http://www.fairhousingsummit.info/
J. Willie David, III, FCRA President will attend the Summit 12:00 Noon
