HOME’s 50th Anniversary
Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia (HOME of VA) was founded in September of 1971 by a group of passionate citizens to fight housing discrimination and enforce the Fair Housing Act. For the next 50 years we continued to defend the rights of individuals across the Commonwealth of Virginia by tackling systemically divisive housing practices through fair housing enforcement, research, advocacy, and statewide policy work.
Now it is time to celebrate half a century of transformative work as we renew our commitment to ensuring access to fair housing for ALL people.
Engage
50th Anniversary Celebration
Celebrate HOME of VA at the Main Street Train Station for an evening to commemorate the individuals and organizations that contributed to HOME’s success over the past fifty years.
Beyond the Dream: Virginia’s Fair Housing Summit
Postponed from fall 2021, the Fair Housing Summit aims to empower scholars, government officials, housing professionals, and friends of fair housing to discuss legislative, administrative, and social issues that affect equal access to housing in Virginia.
Beyond the Dream: VA’s Fair Housing Summit
Greater Richmond Convention Center
Wednesday, April 20 and Thursday, April 21
Keynote Address by Dr. Andre Perry
Andre M. Perry is a Senior Fellow with the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, a scholar-in-residence at American University, and a columnist for the Hechinger Report. Perry is the author of the new book “Know Your Price: Valuing Black Lives and Property in America’s Black Cities.” Perry’s research focuses on race and structural inequality, education, and economic inclusion. Perry’s recent scholarship at Brookings has analyzed Black-majority cities and institutions in America, focusing on valuable assets worthy of increased investment.
Sessions to include: (More to come)
- Opening Session with Shekinah Mitchell
- The Writing on the Wall: Patterns of Displacement and A Case Study of Church Hill in Richmond, VA
- Evictions: Pre-Pandemic and Post-Pandemic
- Fair Housing 101
- Virginia Fair Housing Trends
- Patterns of Displacement: Policy Solutions for Richmond’s Northside
- How to Report Housing Discrimination
- Fair Housing and Data Transparency
- Barriers to Mobility: Source of Funds Discrimination
- Criminal Justice, Policing, and Fair Housing
- Coffee Chat: Algorithms, Tech Equity, and Housing
- Public Housing, Mobility, and Fair Housing
- Where Do We Go From Here? Beyond the Dream
50 Years of Fair Housing at the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia
HOME & 50 Years of Fair Housing in Virginia explores and celebrates the impacts of fair housing work by Housing Opportunities Made Equal of VA (HOME) since its inception in 1971. The exhibit begins by reviewing the actions and events that led up to the Fair Housing Act of 1968 and highlights key victories in fair housing and desegregation that had lasting impact in not just here in Virginia, but across the nation as well. EXHIBIT IS NOW CLOSED.
Conversation Series
Join us this spring as we discuss pressing housing issues in Virginia. Each talk will be presented by HOME directors and a guest subject matter expert. Each session will have a limited number of in-person tickets available for purchase and will be live-streamed for virtual registrants as well.
March 3: Combating Segregated Housing Patterns
March 17: The Black/White Homeownership Gap
March 31: Virginia’s Unstable Housing Environment
April 14: The Role of Fair Housing Organizations
Missed a session? View the recordings:
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Past Events
Fair Housing Focus
Held virtually on September 14th, 2021, the free Fair Housing Focus welcomed 200 participants in a discussion of housing policy and trends that affect equal housing opportunities.
Keynote: History of the Homeownership Gap
Virginia Poverty Law Center’s staff attorney and Director of Housing Advocacy, Christie Marra, breaks down the many historical factors that contributed to the widening gap between white and Black homeowners, such as, redlining, urban renewal, the foreclosure crisis, and mortgage denial disparities.
Presentation of Richmond’s Regional Analysis of Impediments
In 2020, 6 jurisdictions (City of Richmond, Henrico County, Chesterfield County, Colonial Heights, the city of Hopewell, and the city of Petersburg) in the Richmond MSA came together to examine structural and historical barriers to fair housing choice and access to opportunity for members of historically marginalized groups protected from discrimination by the Fair Housing Act. This session discusses the findings of this research and community engagement efforts as well as recommendations for addressing impediments to fair housing choice.
Fair Housing Challenges in Real Estate
The Homeownership gap between white homeowners and Black homeowners is the widest it’s been since the passing of the Fair Housing Act. Shivaughn Ferguson, HOME’s Director of Fair Housing, visits this gap through the lens of Fair Housing. Shivaughn identifies studies and cases pointing to the unspoken prevalence of discrimination in sales transactions, as well as the manner in which discrimination is occurring. Shivaughn speaks to traditional discrimination and also discusses how discrimination may be occurring in a pandemic affected housing market.
