Seven days after the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, The United States passed the Federal Fair Housing Act to end discrimination in housing.
HOME was founded in 1971 by a group of Richmond citizens concerned about the poor enforcement of the Fair Housing Act in the former capital of the Confederacy. Since that time, HOME has brought fair housing cases that have changed the law across the country including HOME's U.S. Supreme Court case, Havens Realty v. Coleman, that set precedent for fair housing organizational standing nationwide, uncovered redlining that changed industries, and diligently enforced the law in big ways and small.
Our data consistently shows that discrimination in housing persists, and that the resources have never been commensurate with the scope and depth of the problem. Discrimination of all kinds continues to limit potential, erode our democracy and diminish the dignity of us all.
To honor the legacy of its founding Executive Director, Barbara Wurtzel Rabin, Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia (HOME) has launched the Barbara Wurtzel Rabin Fund. The $1.5 million Fund will enable HOME to take on two additional systemic investigations or precedent-setting cases every year. Now is the time – there is so much to do in the area of systemic discrimination, with the organizational standing that HOME, Barbara, and the Havens case have given us.
Stand with HOME to take the next steps on the path to a fairer, more just world.
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