HUD Media Campaign Focuses on Shared Opportunity for All

April is Fair Housing Month, the time of year when the nation celebrates the 48th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act, the landmark law that was passed one week after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in April 1968. Every April, HUD, local communities, fair housing advocates, and fair housing organizations across the country commemorate Fair Housing Month by hosting a variety of activities that enhance Americans’ awareness of their fair housing rights, highlight HUD’s fair housing enforcement efforts, and emphasize the importance of ending housing discrimination.

This year, HUD kicked off Fair Housing Month 2016 with a new national media campaign to highlight what communities with shared opportunity for all might look like. The new campaign is designed to educate the public about their housing rights and the ideals behind HUD’s new Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) initiative. The year-long campaign, which was developed in partnership with the National Fair Housing Alliance, will include print Public Service Announcements (PSAs) in various languages, television PSAs in English and Spanish, online videos, and social media outreach.

“A core belief of our values as Americans is the idea that every person deserves a fair chance to secure safe and stable housing,” HUD Secretary Julián Castro said in statement. “Your race, how you get around, the size of your family, whether you come from another country, if you are a man or a woman, or whatever your religious beliefs are should never hinder your housing goals. I am proud of the work our fair housing staff does every day in conjunction with our state and local partners to ensure that everyone’s fair housing rights are honored.”

The new media campaign reinforces the ideals behind the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule, which provides communities that receive HUD funding with the tools and support needed to meet their fair housing planning obligations. The final AFFH rule also provides HUD program participants with guidelines and the data they need to meet their fair housing planning obligations. Since the Fair Housing Act first became law, HUD funding recipients have been obligated to reduce barriers to housing choice and to promote equal access to opportunity, including economic opportunity.

“Nearly 50 years after it was passed, the Fair Housing Act remains a powerful tool to ensure housing providers give every person an equal chance to find the home that is right for them, without prejudice or discrimination,” said Gustavo Velasquez, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “As we move to implement the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule in partnership with local jurisdictions, we are pleased to be entering the next level of fair housing where every family, regardless of Zip code, has access to the resources and opportunity they need to get ahead.”

Source: HUD