MAYOR STODOLA PROCLAIMS APRIL ‘FAIR HOUSING MONTH’

(Wednesday, April 4, 2007) – Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola has proclaimed April, 2007, to be “Fair Housing Month” In Little Rock. The proclamation was made at the April 3rd meeting of the Little Rock Board of Directors. The proclamation was received by Mayo Johnson, Chair of the Little Rock Racial and Cultural Diversity Commission (RCDC), and Don Darnell, chair of the RCDC Fair Housing Committee.

April 2007 marks the 39th anniversary of the enactment of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, landmark legislation, which was amended in 1988 by the Fair Housing Amendments Act, which expanded coverage of Title VII.

Title VII of the 1968 and 1988 Acts, generally referred to as the Federal Fair Housing Act, made it the nation’s policy to assure that fair housing becomes a reality throughout the United States, by prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental or financing of housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.

Mayor Stodola noted, “The Little Rock Racial and Cultural Diversity Commission was instrumental in the State of Arkansas enacting Act 1785 of 2001 to affirm the dedication of the citizens of Arkansas to the principles of fair housing for all its citizens and to create the Arkansas Fair Housing Commission (AFHC) which enforces the Act.”

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